Championship Vinyl

All Blogs Go to Heaven

2007-08-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

This Blog is Dead, Long Live the Blog.

It's been a good run...85 posts over the last year...but i never really expected her to last, in this form, as long as she did. This was the pupae, now we're moving into the chrysalis stage (thank you Freshman Earth Science!).

I've finally built the site i wanted a year ago and if you've stuck around this long, please move over to my new site, www.adammackwright.com. There, you will find my new site, with information on my clothing line, KWblack, and you will find my new blog, The Conglomerate: The Collective Thoughts of Adam Mack Wright. (Presumptious? You betcha!)

Please update your RSS readers, Favorites and most importantly, the links on your own blogs...this should clean things up nicely for you.

See you at the new spot.
Adam

Borderline Beautiful

2007-08-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

A. I love Mandy Moore. I'm not even going to apologize for it. She passed Jeniffer Aniston on my list of "Celebrities Who I Think Would Be the Most Fun to Hang Out with in Real Life" a long time ago. I know CP will share the sentiment, but ever since I watched "A Walk To Remember" I've been pretty damn infatuated.

B. I hate this song. It's just silly. It's infectious and i find myself not hating it when i hear it at the bars but i remind myself that i hate it and all remains right with the world again.

C. My love for Mandy cancels out my hate for this track. It's almost friggin awesome. Enjoy

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-08-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the absence last week, there's not a ton of internet access up here:

However, i did take my iPod and although i tried to spend most of my time listening to the sounds of nature, i did fall asleep each night to The Shins and The Decemberists. They were instrumental in drowning out the waterfall that we camped next to (i don't care what they put on those relaxation CDs, listening to pounding water for 8 hours sucks.) and also my father's snoring. Good times!

On with the shuffle:

1. Chop 'Em Down - Matisyahu, off of Shake Off the Dust...Arise
Maybe it's my Hebrew roots, maybe it's the fact that a Hesidic Jew in full garb is singing reggae, rapping and beat boxing, or maybe it's just because i like good music, but Matisyahu is terrific.
I mean after a weekend of watching Making the Band 4 with my sister, do you realize how rare it is for a musician like this to be noticed and become even the slightest bit mainstream? Just read his Wikipedia entry...this guy has been everywhere, done everything and somehow has become a famous musician while interjecting Old Testament ideas and thoughts into his lyrics...tell me what the odds of that are in today's musical climate??

2. Jambi - Tool, off of 10,000 Days
This is a song to get you jacked up on a Monday Morning. If i was driving (and i guess everyone on the 101 should be glad that i'm not...) i would be drumming on my steering wheel and full on rocking out to this song while stuck in traffic. This is a perfect Monday Morning Shuffle song.
I especially like the voice-box guitar solo towards the end of the song...very Frampton.

3. Eat The Rich - Aerosmith, off of Get a Grip
I believe this is Aerosmith's first turn on the Shuffle...strange how long that took...
So this is one of those teenage-angst anthems i loved in Middle School because of the swear words and that fact that my mom absolutely hated the album cover (the pierced cow udder anyone?) I used to rock out to this song, knew the lyrics by heart and would pump my fist during the ubiquitous "take that Grey Poupon my friend and shove it up your ass!" climax of the song.
Then one day, i looked around at my surroundings and realized, "hey, i'm not living such an under-privileged life here..." and then that lead into my thinking, "Hey, Steven Tyler's probably got some money lying around too...why the hell is he singing about rich people when he's loaded?" And the whole thing just got really hypocritical real fast.
And although i think he was talking about the blueblood, Lifestyles of The Rich And Famous type people and not just people who had a few bucks and although i still love the song and the sentiment, it just got a little weird for me to consider it my anthem.

4. Gone for Good - The Shins, off of Chutes Too Narrow
Of course the shuffle would play a song from a band i've already mentioned once...
Anyway, the thing i'm really starting to like about The Shins is the breadth of their influences. This song is straight country, steel guitar and everything and it's the only song i've heard on 3 different albums that comes even close to sounding like this. You have to have a certain level of respect for a band that will sound completely different from song to song. I know they're not the first ones to do it, but just like Matisyahu, it takes some balls to go that far from the norm. I'm just saying...

5. How I Could Just Kill A Man - Rage Against the Machine, off of Renegades
And now for something completely different... I love when the shuffle does this to me.
This CD was a cop-out full of cover songs but i have to admit that it really did expose me to some music that i never would have listened to otherwise. Rage could have gone with rap covers and some metal/punk stuff but they really dug deep for some of these songs. Some of the bands they covered on this album: Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul-Sonic Force, EPDM, E-40, Bruce Springsteen and Devo...that's right, Devo..the same guys who wore the red pyramid hats and sang Whip It.
This is actually the live version of this song with Zach on stage with B-Real and Sen Dog from the original and mighty Cypress Hill. And before you get all caught up in the fact that i had to stop listening to Eat the Rich because the song was kinda, sorta about me but i can still nod my head to a song about killing cops...well, you'll just have to figure that shit out for yourself.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Are you guys downloading the music? Does it work? Do you like it? Anyone? Beuller?

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-07-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm about to head into the woods for a 6-day backpacking trip in Wyoming so i won't be here next week. I'm not heading in until next Sunday so maybe i'll try and write next week's a little early or maybe we'll just skip it. I'm not sure yet, we'll see how it goes.
Here's the major question...while i'm packing up my gear, i'm charging up my iPod. I've got some backup headphones that i usually use while running and i was thinking how nice it would be to have some tunes to accompany me on my 14+ mile hike into and out of the mountains...then again, maybe i should just enjoy the sound of the woods and being out with nature and talk with the people i'm going with. That's the point of taking this trip isn't it? To get out of the city life for a while and commune with nature? Kind of a pickle. What do you think? (I think i'm going to take it and not use it unless i absolutely need a pick me up or an escape...can't hurt to have right?)

Oh yeah, and i'm adding a new wrinkle this week. You'll see that the song names are linked now. Click on the links and it'll allow you to actually download the song i'm talking about. Wow...only took me 8 months to figure that out...

Anyway, on with the shuffle:
1. Graceland - Paul Simon, off of Graceland
Due to the "You can Call Me Al" video, ("I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me, you can call me Al"...seriously, yet another reference...) i can't separate Paul Simon and Chevy Chase in my mind. I just imagine Chevy Chase doing something goofy throughout every song i hear.
This album also has "Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes" and a bunch of other recognizable songs on it. A good one to say the least.

2. Street Signs - Ozomatli, off of Street Signs
Apparently we're only going to have title tracks today on the shuffle...
I fell in love with Ozo during the old J5/Chali 2na collaboration on Super Bowl Sundae (as opposed to Chocolate Covered Mondae...thanks Erin) which is still one of my favorite songs. This CD is heavy on the Latin flavor which makes it extremely fun to listen to and basically impossible to understand if you're mono-lingual like me. If anyone can translate Te Estoy Buscando for me, i'd appreciate it.
I love the mix of Spanish sounds with the hip-hop roots...it a different sound than the boom-chick-boom-boom we're so used to hearing on top 40 hip hop and rap. Street Signs isn't their best album, but it's pretty good. And these guys have been around forever too if you didn't notice them before. They've shared the stage with Tribe, De La Soul and others in their careers. (And they have an interesting Wikipedia entry...)

3. What Am I To You? - Norah Jones, off of Feels Like Home
I've said this before but Norah still melts my heart... There's just this warmth to her voice that feels like hot coco or whiskey or something. I know that you know what i'm talking about.
I'd like for her to call me and leave a voicemail in that voice. That would be spectacular. I need to date a musician. She would write songs about sleeping with me and make inside jokes for me in the liner notes of her album. This needs to happen...

4. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic - The Police, off of The Classics
Two stories:
1. I was watching Office reruns the other night and the episode where Phyllis gets married was on and Kevin's band, "Scrantonicity" was playing...and all they played was Police songs. It killed me for some reason...partly because it was just so stereotypical of weddings and wedding bands, but also because they just didn't have any other material. Top notch.
2. On April Fool's Day every year, the ASU student newspaper, The State Press, released a joke edition called The Stale Mess, in which they'd do their best Onion impression and make up headlines about the school and make fun of the city, etc. So one year, instead of the usual Police Beat article, it was "The Police" beat...and every story tied in with a song...as in "A woman was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of witchcraft. One eyewitness claimed that everything the woman did was magic, and everything she did just turned me on.
Someone was also charged with littering Tempe Town Lake after sending out a message in a bottle and then finding a hundred million bottles washed upon the shore...
Classic.

5. Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon
I can't say anything about this song that will make it any better. Just download it (especially if you're at the office) and turn up your speakers. EVERYONE wants to start their Monday morning with this song.
I just cranked up the speakers and i'm lip-syncing into a pen and i didn't even bother to shut the door to my office.
If this doesn't get you pumped up to be alive, then you're probably dead and should call 911 immediately.

Have a good week(s). If i'm not back in two weeks, just wait longer.

Links of the Day

2007-07-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

A lot of good musical stuff going on today:

First and foremost, the new Common CD, Finding Forever, is streaming at VH1 (see? it is good for something!) So far, i'm loving it. It's very mellow, which is what i expected.

Also, check out the new Kanye video starring, who else, Zach Galifinakis. Say what you will about Kanye, he loves having fun with his videos. I'll give him that. (Man i hope this new CD is good...)

Blender has put together a list -- with accompanying youtube videos!! -- of the "wackiest cover songs on the web." It's an amusing, if not incomplete, list. Good material for a friday.

Ok, here's my Top 5 list of Hip Hop Albums. Thanks to Kevo for getting this started:
5. Jurassic 5 - Quality Control
4. Dr. Dre - Chronic 2001
3. Talib Kweli - Quality
2. Fugees - The Score
1. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides

The Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-07-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone that came to my party last week. When i made that post about the importance of it and the songs that were catching my ear leading up to it, i was shitting my pants, to say the least. The night turned out amazing. Everything went off completely as i had hoped and i had so much fun. I hope everyone that came had a great time too. The music was amazing...check out myspace.com/djtoad to hear a track or two from our DJ that night. And if you're interested in the apparel at all, it's all posted at kwblack.com.

On with the shuffle:

1. Wearing Thin - Further Seems Forever, off of The Moon is Down
Didn't i just talk about songs that are intrinsically tied to moments a few weeks ago? This is another one.
I guess i hadn't thought of this one in a while but i once made a valiant attempt to be honorable using the words to this song. It didn't work out quite like i had planned, but i guess the offer still stands also. Ha ha. Yikes.
Anyway, this is a song from the Chris Caraba days of FSF and i gotta say, i liked those ones the best.

2. Scavenger Type - NOFX, off of Punk in Drublic
Oh, silly punk bands trying to be folky, how you amuse me.
But let's be real for a second...NOFX was one of the better and more influential punk bands of our time. They made a lot of good music and talked about a lot of political and socio-economic statements (as the do in this song) that has really been missing in todays popular music. And Punk in Drublic was one of my first Punk albums, so there's a spot in my heart for it. Take a look at this album if you can...it'll only take you about 20 minutes to get through the entire thing...another beautiful thing about punk music...1:30 second songs!

3. Ticks & Leeches - Tool, off of Lateralus
Have i done my top 5 list of best musical screams ever? I know i've been thinking about it for a while, i guess i've just never gotten to it. Well, anyway, this song has an unhuman scream in it. How that sound came out of a man's throat, i'll never know.
Top 3 Screams Because i Can't Think of 5:
5. My Heart - Paramore, off of All We Know Is Falling (at the 2:42 mark)
4.
3.
2. Ticks & Leaches - Tool (at the 1:10 mark)
1. Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who (at the 7:45 mark)

2. Burn One Down - Ben Harper, off of Live from Mars
I don't even smoke pot (cough, cough...anymore...cough) and i love this song. And without getting into too much of the argument about this natural occuring plant's legality, he makes some good points in this song about the freedom to do what you want as long as you're not messing with or hurting other people. Now, you could argue that you're affecting others even if you're sitting on your couch, stoned, demolishing a bag of doritos, but that's another conversation for another time. For now, let's just enjoy the hippy drum beats and singing out against the man.

1. Ghost Song - The Doors
Speaking of hippy songs...Well i went nuts to other day and downloaded a crap load of Doors songs because i didn't think that i had enough in my collection. And this is definitely a weird one. It's got the typical Doors sound but with this kinda upbeat new age melody going on with it and Mr. Morrison doing some kind of trippy incoherent spoken word thing. Yeah, i think i'll find Light My Fire or Break on Through and stick to that...

Kevo and Ron are having a good conversation about the Top 10 hiphop albums over on their blogs so i'll probably throw my hat into that ring some time this week. In the mean time, check out their posts.

Kid Icarus

2007-07-18T22:26:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here less than 24 hours away from one of the biggest moments of my adult life. I've tried to keep it down, tell myself it wasn't a big deal, play it low but i started thinking about thinking about the last time i achieved something that i actually gave a shit about...i had to go back to high school and building a house for Habitat for Humanity. Really, seriously, i haven't done anything that i was personally proud of in 6 years. You might say i'm being hard on myself...in those 6 years i've graduated high school and college, i've been the editor of a nationally published magazine, i've done some things that a lot of people would be proud of. But i hold myself to a higher standard. High School was a piece of cake. College was easier. The magazine was awesome but not a big deal by any stretch and the events that lead to me leaving that magazine pretty much marred any acheivement i felt about it.

Well, this thing tomorrow. This clothing line, this fashion show, this company. This is big. This is the first thing i've done in 6 years that i'm actually proud of. This is the first thing that has any potential. This is the first time i'm not being a lazy slacker asshole, breezing through life under the motor of minimum of effort, expecting things to be handed to me and being angry and cynical and playing the victim when it wasn't. This is the first time in 6 years that i'm even thinking about reaching my potential. I'm laying it on the line. My eggs aren't all in one basket, but they're not far from it. If this doesn't work, well then, i'm just not sure i can have any regrets about it...not in the sense that i won't, but in the sense that if i do, i won't be able to handle it. I just can't imagine a Friday in which Thursday night was not a success. I guess we'll see.

Anyway, in all of the planning and turmoil and stress i've been escaping to my sanctuary of Bose headphones and listening to some music and today two songs have occured to me that have struck major chords.

The first one is A Comet Appears by The Shins, off of Wincing the Night Away and it's pretty self explanatory why this one caught my ear. It's pessimistic, but so am i:

One hand on this wily comet, Take a drink just to give me some weight, Some uber-man I'd make, I'm barely a vapor They shone a chlorine light on, A host of individual sins, Let's carve my aging face off, Fetch us a knife, Start with my eyes, Down so the lines, Form a grimacing smile, Close your eyes to corral a virtue, Is this fooling anyone else? Never worked so long and hard, To cement a failure, We can blow on our thumbs and posture, But the lonely is such delicate things, The wind from a wasp could blow them, Into the sea, With stones on their feet, Lost to the light and the loving we need, Still to come, The worst part and you know it, There is a numbness, In your heart and it's growing, With burnt sage and a forest of bygones, I click my heels, Get the devils in line, A list of things I could lay the blame on, Might give me a way out, But with each turn, It's this front and center, Like a dart stuck square in your eye, Every post you can hitch your faith on, Is a pie in the sky, Chock full of lies, A tool we devise, To make sinking stones fly, And still to come, The worst part and you know it, There is a numbness, In your heart and it's growing.

The second song that struck me is a tad more optimistic but not much. This has been a favorite for a long time and i've always loved the meaning but tonight it struck me.

Thrice - Melting Point of Wax, off of Artist in the Ambulance:
I've waited for this moment All my life and more And now I see so clearly What I could not see before. The time is now or never This chance won't come again Throw caution and myself into the wind. There's no promise of safety with these secondhand wings But I'm willing to find out what impossible means. A leap of faith. Parody of an angel Miles above the sea I hear the voice of reason Screaming after me"You've flown far too high boy now you're too close to the sun, Soon your makeshift wings will come undone" But how will I know limits from lies if I never try?There's no promise of safety with these secondhand wings But I'm willing to find out what impossible means. I'll climb through the heavens on feathers and dreams' Cause the melting point of wax means nothing to me. Nothing to me Nothing to me I will touch the sun or I will die trying. Die Trying. Fly on these secondhand wings Willing to find out what impossible means I'll climb through the heavens on feathers and dreams' Cause the melting point of wax means nothing to me Nothing to me Means nothing to me Miles above the sea.

And the thing that caught me about this story isn't the main point i don't think. Sure the obvious story is that Icarus wanted to fly so he made wings out of wax and took off...he flew too close to the sun, the wax melted and he fell back down to earth. It's an interesting moral about ego and arrogance and learning your lesson the hard way, but there's another angle that i don't think i've ever seen until tonight:

If Icarus hadn't made his wings out of wax then they wouldn't have melted and he wouldn't have fallen. In other words, if he had made a decent product, he wouldn't have had a problem. So here's the crux of the biscuit: If my clothing is worth a shit, i'm flying to the sun. If nobody likes it, i'm falling on my ass from a long way up.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-07-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry about this morning. Some things have been set in motion to ensure that years to come, i will be dictating this blog to my personal assistant while having my morning B, BJ and BR (figure it out for yourselves...) instead of typing it myself.

Will i still write the shuffle when i'm fabulously wealthy? Good question. I guess we'll see. (Going on a year by the way...)

On with the shuffle:
1. Zealots - The Fugees, off of The Score
I almost skipped this song. We've talked about the Fugees before. We've talked about how this is one of the finest hip-hop albums ever created. We've talked about how much i love Lauryn Hill and how i miss her. So what else is there? Well, nothing. But this is my favorite song on the album and if you have it, you should listen to it. And if you don't have it, go get the entire CD.

2. 500 Miles - Social Distortion
Man, i hate this song. But i love Social D covers. For some reason, they just do good work. I highly recommend Ring Of Fire and I Fought The Law.

3. Televators - The Mars Volta, off of De-Loused in the Comatorium
Lot's of repeats today but they're all good songs and we haven't talked about them before so we'll stick with it.
This is one of my favorite songs on this album...it starts of slow and has this methodical way about it. The lyrics are considerably creepy in the way that only the Mars Volta can be and it gradually gains steam and leads into the final song of the album. Since this is a concept album and all the songs lead into the next, it is kinda tough to separate one song in particular but this was always a segment of this album that made me stop and listen. There is also this meandering guitar through the song that you have to dig underneath the vocals to hear but it's one of those parts that is almost fun to follow.
If you don't have this album, well, i just don't know what to tell you.

4. Each Coming Night - Iron & Wine, off of Our Endless Numbered Days
I actually don't hate this song. I mean i knew there had to be a few in their collection that i could enjoy, i just didn't think it'd take me this long to find.
I don't get it. What's with the whispering. Just belt it out for fuck's sake! Unless you don't have a good voice, and then you shouldn't be a musician in the first place (with apologies to Bob Dylan).

5. Get Rhythm - Johnny Cash
This is one of my favorite Cash songs. Stop reading this and go listen to it. Great tune if you're stressed or in a bad mood.

Wow...that was uninspired. My apologies. That my friends, is why we do the Shuffle in the morning. I'll try harder next week.

What my Blog is Rated

2007-07-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

I thought i'd test all of my blogs to see what they're rating would be if they were a movie. Again, not a ton of surprise:

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-07-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

My life has been insane lately. Great, but insane. There's something going on pretty much every moment of every day... I have this party going on,

I am out all the time trying to promote it, i'm working like 6 days a week and by the time i go out at night to pass out flyers and meet with people, i'm "working" like 18 hours a day...and i'm not complaining at all. I love it. I really do. This isn't me bitching about it. I'm having the time of my life and no matter how busy or how stressful it gets, i still find myself with a huge smile on my face. When i used to work hard for someone else, i was bitter that my effort was benefiting someone else's pocketbook. Now that my effort is 100% my own, it's just a night and day difference. But, no matter how much fun i'm having, it's still pretty exhausting and i find myself wired at all hours of the day, all jacked up on Red Bull and feeling about as bugged out as a speed-addict with a bad case of ADD and an unlimited Starbucks gift card. The only other time i've really felt this is during my frequent trips to Las Vegas...whether it's for fun or for business, when i'm in that town i find myself so overstimulated that i often have overwhelming cravings for just 5 quiet minutes without flashing lights or naked ladies or a drink in my hand.
When i get the chance, i throw on my Bose soundproof headphones and pick one good song to just absorb that allows me to check out for a few. Anyone who has roomed with me there has seen it. It's an absolute must when i'm in that town...and apparently it's becoming a must in Phoenix too.
Friday, i asked in a myspace bulletin what people listened to in order to chill out...i was listening to Imogen Heap at the time, but here are some of the suggestions i received: Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Joshua Radin, Cary Brothers, Regina Spektor and Iron and Wine. Some of these i have, some of these i'll be checking out. If you see something that should be on this list, let me know in the comments. If you see me with my headphones on and my eyes closed...just give me 5 minutes and i'll be right with you.

On with the shuffle:

1. That Girl is Poison - Bel Biv Devoe
This song keeps popping up in my life ever since Mos Def performed it in February. I hadn't heard it in a long time, but now it frequents my iPod and my party mixes. The DJs at the clubs seem to be playing it a lot more recently than i remember as well. Weird how that happens. Anyway, this song is great, good harmonies, lyrics i can agree with and a rock-hard classic beat.

2. I Could Die For You - Red Hot Chili Peppers, off of By The Way
This album was totally underrated. It has been completely missed and ignored. I don't know why, but nobody thinks anything happened between Californication and Stadium Arcadium, and they couldn't be more wrong. This CD, while it didn't have the epic stature of the two aforementioned albums, was very very good and worth every bit as much time as the others. And like many of the RHCP albums i have, i purchased it at the beginning of the summer, right as i was about to take a road trip to Wyoming. Ever song on this CD reminds me of some part of that summer, this song in particular bringing to mind a drive from Pinedale to Jackson Hole, with the sun shining the windows down and a very slow RV teetering through the canyon on its way to Yellowstone, doing everything in its power to keep me from passing it...

3. Muhammad Walks - Lupe Fiasco
This is the Jesus Walks beat but with Lupe rapping about the muslim prophet Muhammad instead of Jesus...a pretty interesting take and, because he helped do the production on the original, he has the rights to the beat.
Whatever power you believe in, this beat is amazing no matter what they're rapping about and since Lupe kicks a bunch of ass, it's worth checking it out.

4. Blue Mind - Alexi Murdoch
Something tells me i've written about this song before but i can't find any record of it and i really like this song, so we'll talk about it.
There's some intangible quality about his voice...i'm not sure if it's an accent, or just a way of enunciating certain words, but it makes everything he says sound more important and poignant. And this song really reminds me of something that would have been on the Braveheart soundtrack. Bad ass movie=good song. If you haven't had a chance to listen to Alexi, i definitely recommend it. He's a good one out the "guy and his guitar" set and an excellent choice for those 5 minute music refreshers i mentioned earlier.

5. Do It Now - Mos Def, off of Black on Both Sides
Mos teams up with Busta Rhymes for one of the most poppy songs on the entire album. It's interesting to hear how talented Busta Bust is when he's not just accompanying Janet Jackson or some shit. I mean, he and Mos go back and forth and you can almost feel the energy of their collaboration through the CD. I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall of this recording session...i just wonder what Busta Rhymes is like in real life. Do you think he's that excited all the time? Hoo Haa!

The Top 100 Days That Changed Music

2007-07-06T09:38:00.001-07:00

I thought this would be a hard list to put together and that they would totally fuck it up....i was wrong.

Hurricane Katrina-Inspired Songs

2007-07-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

I was driving to work this morning when the song "Dollar Days" by Mos Def came on. This song starts with Mos telling a story about some rescue workers a few days after the storm, find this old lady wading through the flooded streets. By this time, they weren't expecting to find any survivors, so they were surprised to see this lady alive. They approached her and said something to the affect of, "How did you survive? Where have you been?" and her response was, "Where have I been? Where have YOU been?"

So that got me thinking about the songs that have been created in response to that mess. I've heard a few but i want to get a collection together and make a top 5 list later in August, around the time we'll be hearing from the mainstream media just how great everything has become over the last 2 years.

Here is a link to some more tunes.

The one's i like so far are definitely Wide Awake - Audioslave and Dollar Days - Mos Def.

What are your favorites?

Reminds me of the Hurrican Katrina mix i made in 2005 shortly after the storm:
1. Led Zeppelin - When the Levee breaks
2. Bob Dylan - Hurricane
3. REO Speedwagon - Riding the Storm Out
4. Journey - Wheel in the Sky
5. REM - New Orleans Instrumental No. 1
6. Credence Clearwater Revival - Who'll Stop the Rain?
7. The Doors - House of the Rising Sun
8. Dispatch - Water Stop
9. Johnny Cash - Bridge over Troubled Water
10. Blindside - Eye of the Storm
11. Bob Dylan - Blowin in the Wind
12. The Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurricane

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-07-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

A few things before we get started.

A. So, I'm starting piano lessons again and i'm ready to actually commit this time. I have far fewer distractions, a lot more time on my hands and with my new lifestyle changes, a few more dollars to spend towards an actual piano in my house to practice on. I'm making a CD of good piano tunes for Ashley, my friend and teacher, to transpose for me to play and practice. Playing a simplified version of Piano Man is a lot more fun than Mary Had a Little Lamb, trust me. So here's a brief synopsis of the CD i'm making for her:
1. Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond (a bar classic)
2. Piano Man - Billy Joel (another barroom classic)
3. Don't Stop Believing - Journey (after The Sopranos finale, this song will bring the house down)
4. The Luckiest - Ben Folds (for the ladies...)
5. Brothers On A Hotel Bed - Death Cab for Cutie (this song kills me, i could play the intro over and over)
6. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel (one of my favorites)
7. Clocks - Coldplay (not my favorite band, but a good piano song)
8. Colorblind - Counting Crows (this song breaks hearts...)
9. Riders on the Storm - The Doors (i know it's a keyboard, but this song kicks ass.)
10. Something in The Way She Moves - James Taylor (not that i could do it justice...)
11. A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash (can't wait to sing along to this one)
12. Nightswimming - REM (just sounds good, even if nobody knows what it is)

Let me know if you have any suggestions. I'm definitely open to them.

B. There are 2 new shows coming out, one on Fox, one on NBC (i think) that are these karaoke shows in which the contestant wins by knowing the words to songs. They play the song, the person starts singing the words and then they turn the music off and the person keeps singing, or they're expected to say the next line. Why wasn't i informed that these shows were happening?!? Is there some kind of web site in which they look for contestants for these things that i don't know about? Did they identify me as a threat to their bank accounts and blacklist me? I WOULD DESTROY THESE SHOWS! I'm figuring out how to get on one of them as soon as i finish writing this.

On with the shuffle:
1. House of The Rising Sun - Bob Dylan
Is it possible to have a worse voice and still have the song sound amazing? I think no.
I mean, his voice just sounds awful, but it's so perfect at the same time. I've heard this song done a thousand different ways and by a thousand different voices and while i love The Doors' version, this one is really growing on me. I think that Dylan's voice just fits the rawness and pain of the context of this song. It sounds like the song you'd hear if you just jumped a train or were sitting around a campfire with some other downtrodden folk. It just sounds like it's from another time period altogether.

2. Captain Jack - Billy Joel
A terrific Billy Joel song about drugs and women and trying to be cool and all the stuff that make being a rock star so kickass. Is it just me or is this song the musical equivalent of Boogie Nights?

3. Stay or Leave - Dave Mathews, off of Some Devil
Some songs are inescapably connected to moments in our lives. Some good, some bad, it doesn't matter, but for those of us who view music as the soundtrack of our lives, you know what i'm talking about. It's almost symbiotic. There are songs the make me actually feel guilt, pain, happiness, goosebumps, etc. Interesting that music has this physiological affect on us...
Top 5 Songs that Completely Rip My Heart Out:
5. Brothers on a Hotel Bed - Death Cab
4. Rough Draft - Yellowcard
3. Mess - Ben Folds
2. Stay Or Leave - Dave Mathews
1. Colorblind - Counting Crows

4. American Pie - Don McLean
Totally forgot this one on the piano mix CD. I'll have to add it to the 2nd one. This is a terrific bar and sing-a-long song that any decent barroom piano player (and really, that's all i aim to be) should know.
One summer in Wyoming, my mom, brother, sister and I went on a hike up to some lake. My mom promised that there would be fishing at the lake and that it wasn't far. My sister and her mounted their horses and took off down the trail. My brother and i, having refused to ever ride (horses smell, are a pain to take care of and miserable to ride if you have testicles...) so we strapped our fishing stuff to our backs and started walking. Eight miles later we caught up at the lake, fished for about 18 minutes before realizing that there were either no fish, or they didn't want what we had, and turned around and headed back down the trail. Well i don't know how many of you have walked 16 miles in one day (not to mention 8 uphill and 8 downhill) but there's not a whole lot you can do to avoid being uncomfortable at some point. Your socks get sweaty, you get blisters, the packs start to rub your back raw, your calves and toes start to hurt from walking downhill and accidentally kicking rocks...so you do what you can to pass the time and take your mind off it. Somehow i managed to bet my brother that between the two of us, we could put together every single word of this song in order..and so for a few hours on the way back to the truck we sang and sang and argued about whether the marching band refused to yield before or after jack flash sat on the candle stick...good times.

5. Let's Get High - Dr. Dre, off of Chronic 2001
Normally, i would skip this song...there's just not that much that can be said about it, and for one reason or another, i don't think this song really connects with the target audience of this blog...call me crazy.
Anyway, the reason it's being included is because there's a story behind it. Back in my senior year of high school, when i had a whole lot of jack shit to do, Danny Bogen and I would go run the bleachers or the track at Horizon at night. Inevitably, our parents realized we were at the school and logically could pick our brothers up from Marching Band practice since we were already there. So Danny and i would do our thing and then sit in the car listening to music, waiting for them. One night, there are about 30 other parents in the parking lot, all waiting for their kids and Danny grabs the Chronic 2001 cd...we're listening to it at a reasonable volume level and then this song comes on...for those of you who don't know, here are the lyrics to the first few lines of this song: "All the niggas and all these hoes is here/somebody here's gonna fuck." So what does Danny do as he sees Nole, Ron and Jack walking towards the parking lot? Of course he blasts it. I'm in my old Suburban, so Nole and Ron come running up, jump on the running boards and start rocking the shit out of my truck, thus directing even more attention to the complete vulgarity of the music we're playing ... and then come our little brothers, absolutely mortified at how we're acting in front of all the other kids and their parents. (Of course, we were the cool kids on campus, so we were actually making them cooler simply by being associated with us...) Makes me laugh every time.

Alright, have a great week. Enjoy music.

Ridiculous Band Names

2007-06-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Cracked Magazine (yes, it's back) has made a list of the Top 25 Most Ridiculous Band Names and it's pretty funny. I have to say that the list seems rather proportional to the suckiness of the band as well...

Here's my personal top 5 list of ridiculous band names:
5. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs (How about no, no, no.)
4. Five For Fighting (Pretty sissy song for a band named after a hockey penalty...)
3. Fountains of Wayne (huh?!?)
2. Jefferson Starship (was supposed to be an updated version of Jefferson Airplane, might have turned out to be the worst band ever.)
1. Snow Patrol (I actually briefly enjoyed their work so this isn't based on my taste for their music at all. I just hate this name with a passion. It has no relevance to their body of work and just seems one of those names that happened when everyone was stoned and someone said something and everyone stopped and said, "That would be a good band name, dude." only it sounded clever while everyone was messed up. Upon becoming sober, most people would have forgotten the name, these guys, however, were nominated for a grammy with it...Here's the story (from Wikipedia): "In a recent issue of Rolling Stone magazine, bass player Paul Wilson joked the reason for the name stemmed from an encounter with police in Telluride, Colorado. The band members apparently were caught trying to cut down a Christmas tree from the skiing hotspot. The band successfully eluded the police when they hid in a cave for over five hours. Drummer Jonny Quinn suffered from pneumonia after the ordeal."

The Monday Morning (ok, Night) Shuffle

2007-06-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry this took me so long to get to. I had an insane morning, there was just no way i could take the time out to write it. My apologies.
This will also be interesting because these will not be the first 5 songs of my day, as they typically have been, instead, i have listened to music a lot today and this will be the last 5 songs of my day. Could be interesting....

On with the shuffle:
1. Fuck You Slowly - Tenacious D
No little kids read this right? Right?
Funny that this song came on because i just happened to make a pilgrimage back to Mill Avenue and The Big Bang Saturday night. It was probably the first time since i graduated that i was back hanging out with the college kids, raising a glass (of water) and singing my lungs out to the dueling pianos. That place is still fun, even if i felt like 420 years old.
Well they play that song at the Big Bang, because it's just generally an awesome song to play in a room full of 20-somethings that are drinking and hoping to end up sharing body heat with someone later in the evening.
Great song, great subject matter. No art needed. Just come right out and say it. HAHA. I've probably heard it 500 times, and it still makes me laugh. (also appropriate given the title of this blog and the Jack Black connection that lay theirin...if you don't know what i'm talking about, stop reading and go watch High Fidelity. Don't come back until you do. Seriously, i'm not even joking.)

2. In The Cold Cold Night - The White Stripes, off of Elephant
This song is surprisingly beautiful and enjoyable. I've NEVER liked the White Stripes, not even a bit. But not there are 2 songs on this CD that i like and i'm wondering if, like a virus, this CD is starting to spread a little bit. I don't think i'll ever completely like it, but it is growing on me.
I was kinda writing the last few sentences of the last song as this one came on, and i didn't immediately recognize it...so i open up iTunes to see what it is and i was pretty surprised with the result.

3. No Joy In Mudville - Death Cab For Cutie, off of We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes
Mostly, i really like Death Cab. This song is not working for me. Too slow, too many effects and weird sounds. I'm sure i'd love it in the flow of the entire album, it just isn't working for me in this venue. It's actually actively bothering me. I'm hitting next. I never do this.

4. Cambridge - Motion City Soundtrack, off of I Am The Movie
So i've often spoke of the traits of my favorite CDs...a good flow from song to song, how the organization is important, how the first song - like a lead-off hitter in baseball - can set the tone for an entire album, and if the first song doesn't work, it can ruin an album. So let's do a little top 5 of best Track 1's, Side 1's in my uneducated opinion:
5. Bombtrack - Rage Against The Machine
4. Black Dog - Led Zep IV
3. Enter Sandman - Metallica, Metallica
2. Son Et Lumiere - The Mars Volta, De-loused in the Comatorium
1. Welcome To The Jungle - Guns and Roses, Appetite For Destruction

There are a ton more we could list, but these were all Lead-off Homeruns. Now let's talk about this song: IT'S A TOTAL STRIKEOUT! I bought this CD because i liked one song off of an epitaph CD sampler and i put it on at the beginning of a road trip, and this song was just putrid. Almost ruined the trip...but i forged through it and I can say that i've liked every single one of their songs on 2 cds since this song. That's 25 out of 26 songs that i've loved, and 1 that i can't listen to at all. How the hell did that happen?

5. Carry On - Crosby, Stills and Nash

This is one of my favorite CSN songs of all time. Between this one and "Lee Shore" these are really the only two songs that i'll actively search out and listen to on purpose. This song has this raging guitar intro that would absolutely thrash were it not played on an acoustic guitar. Then there's this little break down section in the middle that is almost jazzy, with the 3 men succeeding in sounding like a 25-person chorus in the high-harmony that is so characteristic of their finest music. A terrific song all around, and a perfect way to end the Monday Night Shuffle.

Goodnight all.

The Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-06-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

Will be written tonight...probably. Sorry.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-06-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

Alright, busy day today. Lot's going on. Let's just get right down to it.

1. Flesh Into Gear - CKY, off of Infiltrate.Destroy.Rebuild
Most of you are familiar with CKY's sound from countless hours of watching Jackass. Bam's brother Jess is the drummer of this band and Jackass (and Bam) really got their start from being complete idiots on these promo videos called, creatively, CKY. If you haven't seen them, and you want to explore the roots of Bam, The Margera family, some sick skating and the performance art chaos that these fine individuals have perfected, then go find CKY, CKY2k, CKY3 and most importantly, Landspeed. Landspeed started it all...very few people know this. Also, CKY stands for Camp Kill Yourself.
As far as the band goes, i really like them. They rock for the sake of rocking. They have a crisp metal sound that doesn't go over the top in its brutality and i really like the sound of the lead singer's voice. They do some pretty unique things with effects and lyrics and they're definitely worth a listen. Some of it is actually rather catchy.

2. Don't Drag Me Down - Social Distortion, off of White Light, White Heat, White Trash
Last week, I decided to go nuts and download every Social D and Deftones song i could find. I was honestly surprised that the RIAA police didn't knock down my door that very moment. These are two bands that have massively obsessed followings that i never got into myself. I decided to give them a chance.
I've always liked Social D for the same reasons i like CKY above. They just rock for the sake of rocking. Let's get everything up tempo, let's get some good hard guitar going, let's beat the drums until our knuckles bleed and lets sing the lyrics like we've got an extra set of vocal chords, if we ruin these ones.
This song is no different. Good solid rock and roll fundamentals...verse, chorus, verse, guitar solo, chorus, done. I love it.

3. Free Bird, Lynrd Skynyrd
Jesus, am i over my head now or what? How do i write about this song? How do i even put it into context? Which part of the 10:07 do i talk about?
Ok, i figured out what to talk about: Why do people yell 'Play Freebird!!' at every concert? A simple google search proves that other people have spent quite a bit of time thinking about this very thing...in fact, the Wall Street Friggin Journal wrote quite a few words about it.
My favorite "Play Freebird!" moment happened a few months back when i was at the Mos Def show in Brooklyn. It was kinda quiet, Mos took a ton of time in between songs, looking at the set list, talking to the musicians, taking his jacket off, drinking water, talking to the audience...so he walks up to the mic after what had to be 3-4 minutes of silence and right as he's about to say something, someone yells it...Mos immediately cracks up, stumbles back a few steps and then just sits down in the middle of the stage with his head in his hands, laughing his ass off. I think he laid down at one point, and then gets up, walks back to the mic and says, "Fucking Free Bird???" and they go into the next song. Hilarious.
(and because it deserves mentioning, i pulled up google, did the search, read the article, wrote my little story about it and already typed the number 4 for the next song before Freebird finished...)

4. The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood 3 (Power Out), off of Funeral
I could have sworn i talked about this song in a shuffle before but it turns out that i haven't. I did mention it a week or two back in my Beats, Part 1 post.
This is without a doubt my favorite Arcade Fire song to date...it just rocks. I love the sound of it, the beat and the guitar. This is a song you can dance to. I really fell in love with it one night at The Hard Rock casino in Vegas when i was there with Nole, Ron and Jesse for the POOL show. We had met some other guys from the show and they had driven us over to the casino to hit another bar (we had been at The Palms and it sucked). As we were walking in from the parking garage, this song was playing over the main stereo and i asked the guy i was walking next to what he thought of the band, since i was still deciding if i liked them or not. He gave me a great explanation (although i'll be damned to remember what it was.) and the song just struck me as awesome as we walked through the casino listening to it.
Oh, and here's the inspiration for the song...

5. Every Ghetto, Every City - Lauryn Hill, off of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Again, i'm out of my league here. This song, this CD, this artist, is just flat out amazing and nothing i can say can do it justice.
This is one of my favorite songs on the album, just because her voice is so alluring and the beat is such a toe-tapper. It's just good.
Come back Lauryn. We need you. (i'd take a solo cd, a Fugees reunion, anything.)

Alright, that turned out pretty well. Wish i had some more time to discuss, maybe i'll come back tonight and add to it.

Have a good Monday.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-06-11T07:47:00.001-07:00

Too tired for stories. Let's just get on with it. (Back in the day when i started this, i was unemployed with no prospects. I created this blog -- and the others -- as a forum to continue reading and writing and push myself creatively instead of sitting on the couch all day. I picked Monday MORNING Shuffle because it had a nice ring to it and because i needed a reason to get out of bed before noon. Now that i'm gainfully employed and i'm waking up early anyway, Morning is a regrettable choice. However, I will push on.)

1. We Know - Talib Kweli, off of The Beautiful Struggle
When this CD first came out, i listened to it a lot. And then i just quit. Not sure why. But this weekend, after spending about 12 hours in the car driving to LA and back, i listened to it straight through. Actually i pretty much listened to every Kweli song i had on there and i gotta say i think i'm getting back into him in a big way. There was a lot of stuff that i missed the first times through. Don't you love that?
Anyway, this song is a slow one but beautiful in both its sound and subject matter. It is also dated in some of its rhymes, which is kinda hilarious just because things have changed so much since then. Kweli says something like, "We can cruise like Tom and Penelope." and until i heard that, i totally forgot that relationship ever existed. Hilarious.

2. The Late Greats - Wilco, A Ghost is Born Again
Wilco is another one of those bands, like The Decemberists, that i find myself loving and hating depending on the mood i'm in. This song i particularly love. Not sure exactly why, the music just strikes me as compelling and the melody is catchy. Some of their stuff is slow and boring and experimental and noise for the sake of noise and the vocals aren't good enough and the lyrics not interesting enough to make me continue listening. This song is the opposite of that.

3. Don't Ask Me - OK Go
Has a band ever received more fans from a youtube video ever? Because i never listened to them much before this video and now i'm constantly keeping my eyes open for them. Good for them and hurrah for technological liberation.

This thing has over 4 million views...

4. Wonderful Day - O.A.R., off of Stories of a Stranger
This CD is one of the best road trip albums ever (in fact, i'm kind of angry with myself for not listening to it over the weekend.) It's happy, it's poppy, the sing-a-long factor is through the roof. This is a CD that will keep you awake on 1 hour of sleep (especially when added to Red Bull and sunflower seeds.). I don't even care if this isn't your type of music. If you're a music fan, then you like beats and melodies that compel you to move and sing. You can't argue with me about this. If you don't have this CD, or are too emo to think that you'll like happy music, then you've completely missing out.

5. Papa Loved Mama - Garth Brooks, off of Ropin' The Wind
This is interesting twist to the shuffle...Garth is absolutely the only country i will allow on my iTunes (only mainstream country that is...Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen and other "texas" country artists are allowed.)
I have to give Garth (and country music) a little credit in this one rite, it is the only genre of music that will sing about a truck driver husband driving his rig into a hotel room, thereby killing his cheating wife and presumably her lover, and make it sound like a great song to sing along to, dance to and cheer for at a live concert. It's absolutely hysterical.
My favorite Garth moments in life, and believe me these happened a lot, were when i'd get home from work in college and Danny Bogen, my roommate at the time, would already have a big drink poured for me, a few shots lined up, the Playstation tuned up to NHL Hitz and Garth blaring on the stereo. I can't tell you how many times we'd be signing and hooting and hollering and generally howling at the moon in our living room until the wee hours of the morning as we got piss drunk and laughed our asses off singing Friends in Low Places. I tell you what, it may seem stupid to you, but those nights were some of my favorites ever. Ever.

Alright, thanks for reading. Have a good week.

This is Why i Hate, This Is Why, This is Why, This is Why, This is Why I Hate

2007-06-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Not that long ago, i wrote a few thousand word defense of rap and hip-hop (which received one comment. Seriously, what the fuck?!?). Today, i came across this Village Voice "breakdown" of This Is Why I'm Hot which just made me laugh. It's top notch, tongue in cheek and absolutely the reason that i hate this song, and others like it.

Also, check out Kweli's take on this song. Pretty quality.

"Like Heavy metal for girls..."

2007-06-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a good article for all you Fall Out Boy-genre haters (and a new reason to hate them, because Wentz compares himself to Bob Dylan, which makes me want to puke a little bit.):

TEENAGE TASTELAND
INSIDE N.Y.C.'S ANGST-ROCK EMPIRE
June 6, 2007 -- ONLY a few years ago, Jonathan Daniel had hit 40 as a failed hair-metal god replete with gray hair, stolid paunch and a penchant for faded, tapered denim jeans. Bob McLynn, a Mr. Clean look-alike one decade younger, was a failed post-hardcore bass player living off a deficit account.
So it makes an odd kind of poetic sense that together, as the masterminds behind the New York-based agency Crush Management, they are responsible for some of the most popular, ubiquitous and critically savaged emo/pop-punk bands of the moment - Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, The Academy Is . . . basically, any band that a 13-year-old girl with a blog and Hot Topic habit obsesses over.
“[I thought] as long as I could figure out how to make money with artists, it’ll be a business,” says Daniel, whose face shines with a fine film of sweat and who punctuates nearly every thought with a high-pitched, machine-gun-style laugh. “And the turning point came when I found Fall Out Boy.”
How Daniel found Fall Out Boy is in dispute (he says he stumbled across a song on the Web; FOB bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz recalls mailing in a tape), but the band was the first act Daniel and McLynn signed to their struggling company - though Daniel was skeptical.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know. They’re so green,’ ” he recalls. “But Bob was like, ‘I know what to do.’ ”
McLynn threw the band in a van and had them tour the country for a year, while Wentz intuitively built up a fan base - albeit primarily among 13-year-olds - by creating a patina of intimacy with them online. Which, to suburban girls suffering from strip-mall ennui, felt very real.
“And then I went to see FOB down at the Continental for a little Sunday afternoon show, and there were 300 kids there, at 3 in the afternoon, singing every word to every song,” says Daniel. “I started going crazy. This was the new way to reach kids.”
Fall Out Boy’s success has spawned a legion of sound-alike, look-alike bands, several of which are now signed to Crush, including Panic! and Academy - both discovered by Wentz. He also encouraged Crush to sign the supremely goofy rap-rock outfit Gym Class Heroes, who just had a No. 1 hit with “Cupid’s Chokehold.”
Much like Lou Pearlman - the crooked impresario who created and controlled the ubiquitous boy bands of the mid- to late ’90s - the guys behind Crush have successfully marketed a critically dismissed, yet commercially successful, stable of cute boy bands to timid teenage girls not yet ready for real rebellion.
“It’s no different than *NSYNC with guitars,” says Butch Walker, a producer and songwriter who has worked with FOB and Academy. “Which they’re not. But I don’t think [these] kids are as critically discerning as they would be if they were older.”
Crush’s management style borrows from Pearlman’s business model, as well as parts of Motown and the Brill Building. They’re a factory, operating out of a single loft-like office space on East 11th Street.
The recording studio is in the back, as is the in-house producer, a lanky, talkative 37-year-old journeyman named Sam Hollander. The merchandising is run out of the front. The on-call video director, a super-chill 38-year-old “Sound of Music” obsessive named Alan Ferguson, has a room of his own, littered with candles and DVDs of old Hollywood musicals, while core songwriter and producer Walker is based out of Los Angeles.
Shrewdly, Crush simply manages this team. None of these artists is on the Crush payroll, but when they work with Crush artists, Daniel and McLynn - who pointedly and often refer to their company as a “family” - get a cut.
“It’s not as ugly, seedy, inside-job as it seems with us,” says Walker. “It’s really like a family.”
Until now, Daniel and McLynn have intentionally remained anonymous, which allows their biggest bands to seem like part of an organic movement rather than extensions of a calculated, cultivated brand.
Fall Out Boy, Panic! and Academy specialize in baroque videos with narratives not seen since the ’80s, as well as logorrheic song titles only an adolescent could love: “Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part To Save the Scene and Stop Going to Shows),” “Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends” - Fall Out Boy tracks both. “The kids get so deep on the lyrics,” says McLynn. “They speak to kids on a level that no one’s spoken to them before.”
Also unofficially employed by Crush is Fall Out Boy lyricist/bassist Wentz, the band’s most famous member and the elfin, guylinered mascot of the entire scene. A pop-culture obsessive who spends an inordinate amount of time online, Wentz basically works as their A&R guy, having signed all three bands to his own label, Decaydence, which is also managed by Crush, as is Wentz’s clothing line, Clandestine.
“It can get incestuous,” Wentz concedes. “Crush manages everything I do - almost everything. I pee on my own. But it’s a trickle-down theory of economics that really works.”
“Wentz is an entrepreneur,” says Walker. “He was a bored kid from the suburbs who was like, ‘I’m gonna have more T-shirts to sell than songs in my set list.’ ”
Wentz himself - who recently hit a new, Us Weekly level of celebrity by hooking up with the dubious likes of Ashlee Simpson - admits that “Fall Out Boy is the way I support my lifestyle.”
“All the bands judge each other by how much merch they sell,” says Daniel.
Such crass commercialism has long had its place in hip-hop - Wentz himself aspires to be like his mentor and Island/Def Jam president Jay-Z - but in Wentz’s scene, not so much. This makes him one of the most loathed figures in rock, suspected of exploiting his fans’ false sense of a confessional community in the interest of selling CDs at $20 a pop. And the Crush bands are among the very few, in the age of file-sharing and downloads, who can; FOB’s latest record, “Infinity on High,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
Yet these profit-margins haven’t translated to critical respect, or fans over the average age of 15. Daniel, to his credit, isn’t so shocked. He admits that the bulk of his bands aren’t so familiar with rock.
“Panic! in particular - I think their musical history traces back to the first Third Eye Blind album,” he says. “That’s it. Like, the guy producing their record gave them ‘The Beatles Anthology.’ And they were very excited, but they didn’t know any of it.”
Also, Daniel thinks that FOB and its spawn are disparaged by critics because “they’re very much like the hair bands of the ’80s, like Motley Crue - it’s, like, heavy metal for girls. This scene is very much like that. It’s very female-based.”
“He couldn’t be more on the mark,” says producer Hollander of Daniel’s assessment. “Dead on. If you were a hipster, like I was at that age - God, you wanted to laugh at it. That’s exactly right.”
“It’s not edgy,” says songwriter Walker (he’s also written and produced for Pink, Avril Lavigne and Bowling for Soup). “It’s no different than the hair metal movement that Bon Jovi pioneered,” he says. “When those girls outgrew New Kids on the Block and Debbie Gibson and started smoking cigarettes and hanging out with boys who drive Camaros, they started listening to Bon Jovi. And that music was not good either.”
Walker, whose tastes run more toward the Arcade Fire, concedes that a lot of the Crush bands sound “so same-y - they all have the same look, play the same guitar songs, all the songs are about the same s - - -. I think that’s why the critics don’t like it.” He pauses. “Jonathan may not be the poster boy for what is indie-cred cool, but if he was, he wouldn’t be successful. Let’s not have our head up our ass and shoot ourselves in the head with the hipster gun. And I think that’s why the company is equally loved and loathed.”
To Wentz, it’s all just white noise. He sees himself as one in a long line of great artists who, in their prime, were profoundly misunderstood: “You know, Bob Dylan plugged in and everyone started booing,” he says. “Thirty years later, he’s hailed as one of the greatest artists of all time. There are plenty of ways to get rich. It’s very easy. But if you want to be involved in this, you want to be involved for the legacy of your art.”
He prefers to see himself and Crush as a latter-day version of Andy Warhol’s Factory. “The most important thing is the brand, and the shift in popular culture we’re making,” he says. “We don’t have meetings about what color we should dye our hair.”
And so next month, the band - which to date has employed monkeys, Wentz’s dog Hemingway, and Kim Kardashian in its videos - will expand its navel-gazing oeuvre by shooting its next video in Uganda.
“Pete and the band want to focus a lot of attention on humanitarian efforts,” says director Ferguson. “The band is going to meet at orphanages, political leaders. Fall Out Boy will play at a school, for example. You know those big, inflatable things that kids jump on at carnivals? We’re gonna bring one of those to the orphanages for a day so the kids can play with it.”
Trickier, he says, is capturing the mood: “I need to make it compelling. You don’t want it to look like a Sally Struthers commercial. This is a ‘TRL’ video.”
But for now, there’s a tour to wrap up: FOB played Jones Beach last night, along with Crush stablemates Academy and Cobra Starship, after which Wentz headed over to his 28th birthday party at Angels & Kings - a theme park-y dive bar in the East Village recently bought by Crush (all their artists are investors).
The opening night party hosted Jay-Z, Helena Christensen and Kate Bosworth, though of course the Crush guys prefer to position it as just a dirty little clubhouse for their artists. Wentz, hilariously, told The Post at the opening that his own bar was a necessity because he wasn’t “cool enough” to get into most clubs. “We just want someplace where we can hang out and be ourselves.” And which, no doubt, will lure kids from Long Island and New Jersey, hoping to “hang out” with their favorite uncool, superfamous rock stars.
Wentz and Crush, though, aren’t worried about the little girls catching on. “I feel like our fans could smell a fake,” Wentz says. “I do the things I believe in.”
“Wentz, as much as he is hated on by the cred kids - they have no idea what kind of force they’re reckoning with,” Walker adds. “A lot of people think he’s cashing in on empathy and pain. But whatever.”

maureen.callahan@nypost.com

More Beats, Part 1

2007-06-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

On the shuffle Monday, i made a quick Top 5 list of my staple beats if -- and when -- i ever become a DJ (or really, just get to spin once.)

So i've been thinking about it more and more and i've come up with a few more of my favorite beats that i would spin. In no certain order and not always with explanation:

Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine - The beat of this song was used for some rap song that i heard and i was kinda pissed about it at the time but it did make me realize how good the beat actually is, and actually, you could use the vocals over a different beat. I absolutely will use this a lot of ways. You know, when i get my tables.

Journey - Seperate Ways - Totally random song but i'm definitely playing this right at the beginning of my set. There's just something about this song that pounds through the speakers and gets people tapping, nay, stomping their feet.

Jurassic 5 - Quality Control + What's Golden - Have you ever met anyone who didn't like Quality Control? I think that even Nole would like this beat and this song.
And What's Golden has got to be one of the better party songs created in the last 10 years.

The Roots - The Seed 2.0

The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

Asia - Heat of The Moment

Arrested Development - Tennessee

Beastie Boys - Rhymin and Stealin (or, as it's also known, When The Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin)

Boyz II Men - Motown Philly

The Caesars - Jerk It Out - Yeah, it's kinda tired but still a great song.

Dre - Keep Their Heads Ringing

George Clinton - Bop Gun

Ina Gadda Da Vida - Iron Butterfly - Maybe speed it up a bit, but it's a great riff and could be applied to any vocals.

Jay -Z - The Threat, 99 Problems

Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down - I think this is an amazing song and the beat could absolutely be adapted to the club. There's just a sound to it that'll get people stomping and clapping. I think it would work.

Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing - I mean, who doesn't want to hear this when they're out and have had a few cocktails?

Alright, that's enough. Part 2 later.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-06-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

Another nice musical weekend...i finally sacked up and with the help of a birthday gift certificate to best buy, bought a really nice surround sound package to go with my really nice TV. The musical importance of this is that my new surround sound receiver comes with an iPod dock. I just plug it in, the same way you would to charge it, and the iPod plays through all 5 speakers and the sub-woofer. It can also be controlled from the remote control and the menu pops up in the corner of the TV so you can see where you're scrolling. It also charges while connected...
It's a pretty awesome feature and one that i'm sure will keep me listening to music even more than i already do.

On with the Shuffle:
1. New Desert Life - Further Seems Forever, off of The Moon is Down
FSF has more reincarnations than the Buddha himself but i think this one is my favorite. I would have passed up on every Dashboard song i'd ever heard to keep this one together.
This album, along with Yellowcard - One for the Kids and Taking Back Sunday - Tell all your Friends, was my baptism into the world of "emo", so to speak. Sophomore year of college. I was pissed about pretty much everything and this seemed like the perfect music to connect with, at the time.

2. How Come - Ray LaMontagne, off of Trouble
We've been over him a few times, but this is definitely one of the better songs on the album. If you haven't started listening to Ray yet, definitely give him a shot. That's all i can say...

3. Bow Wow W0w - Snoop Dogg
This is one of my favorite main stream rap songs ever. I love the beat, absolutely love it. I can blast this in my car like nobodies business. The collaboration between Snoop and Dre is just classic and i love Snoop's delivery back when he was just getting started. It seems like he worked a little harder on his rhymes then...
Anyway, i was at Pussycat Lounge Saturday night...and i friggin hate that place...but, the DJ is always really good. He plays a really good mix of classic rock, 80s rock, hip hop, old school, everything...and he gets really creative with how he mixes it all together. He plays the most obvious riff of a song just to get everyone excited and then he goes away from it as a tease, only to bring it back a minute later, just at the moment everyone is going, "I know i heard that beat...i'm mad he didn't play the whole song.." It's exactly the kind of DJ i like to think i would be, and i really am considering getting some tables and learning how to spin. I don't even care if i get any good, i just want to spin for my friends one night, at one party, and i would be happy. I think i'd be good. Anyway, i was thinking on Sunday morning about my 5 absolute staple beats that i would have to spin every night:
1. Ain't No Fun - Snoop
2. Juicy - Notorious BIG
3. That Girl is Poison - Bel Biv Davoe
4. Pistol Grip Pump - E40
5. Boyz In the Hood - Eazy-E

4. Summersong - The Decemberists, off of The Crane Wife
This song falls on the side of Decemberist songs that i actually like. In fact, The Crane Wife is probably my favorite album from them so far. I don't know why i like this song and i don't like others...i think the music is more full and rich and so it's not the vocals i notice so much as it is the Sea Shanty quality that the music has. The hook and chorus are just more compelling than other songs i've heard. This is a good one though.

5. Smiley Faces - Gnarls Barkley, off of St. Elsewhere
Does Charles Barkley like Gnarls Barkley? These are the thoughts that keep me up at night...

As sick as i am of hearing Crazy as every one's ringback tone of their cell phone, i still like it. (I think that i don't get sick of popular songs as fast as everyone else because i don't listen to the radio...) but this song really kicks ass. There's a lot of other good tunes on this CD but this one is definitely one of my favorites. I love the old school/new school hybrid of their music. There's some Doors -esque organ in this song and the beat just seems like something the Temptations should be singing over. If you have only heard Crazy and are writing Gnarls Barkley off, i suggest you check out the rest of their album.
It's not very often that the Labels let something this experimental (it's experimental today...wouldn't have been 30 years ago...which makes it retro-cool) slip through the cracks.
In fact, when this song ended, an old Al Green song came on right after and i thought that i had accidentally turned the shuffle button off and it was playing another Gnarls' song...interesting.

Alright, i have a huge busy day so i'm licking the stamp and mailing this Shuffle in just a little bit. Still, such a good way to start the day...

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-05-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

So i open iTunes yesterday to listen to something while i'm working and guess what? It's gone. I mean...there's nothing there. I have no songs, no videos, no explanation. So i frantically click over to my iTunes folder where everything is stored and sigh with relief that all the files are there. So what happened? iTunes just decided it didn't want my library anymore and dumped it. I have no explanation. So anyway, i imported the library again, which is still in shambles because of my complete deletion a few weeks back, and end up with about 1,000 more songs than i had. At first, i said, "Great, it found some stuff i forgot to add." Until i started scrolling through and noticing double and triples of a ton of stuff. Not everything, but enough to make a difference. Anyway, my OCD kicked in and spent the next 2 hours with a focus unlike i ever have and completely retraced and reorganized everything. I deleted most of the doubles and triples completely off my computer, freeing up about a gig of space. Let's hope i didn't kill anything important.

On with the shuffle,

1. This Ain't A Scene, It's an Arms Race - Fall Out Boy, Infinity on High
I started here on purpose because i know i'm the only one here that consistently likes them. And i have no idea why. You know that i'm usually the first one to write off a band that the masses like, especially after that awful Verizon commercial with the meathead lifting and sweaty and listening to it on his phone and then getting a call from his "babe" all the while forgetting to spot his friend on the bench. I mean, that's usually the breaking point for me. But here i am, enjoying yet another guilty pleasure from the most sold-out band available today. Part of me is ashamed, and part of me doesn't really give a shit. It's poppy and fun to listen to and sing along with. Sometimes you need that...i can't sing along with Sigur Ros. (besides, you all have your guilty pleasures too. I know it so i won't feel too bad.)
Anyway, so far, i like this album. It sounds like all the other ones, and talks about the same exact shit. But like i said, it's catchy, poppy and you can sing with it. When my windows are down (not really an option now that we've hit summer) flying up the 101, this is what i'll be listening to.

2. Chi-City - Common, off of Be
Common is one of my favorites. It's been welllllll documented. I love his voice and his delivery. He sounds so relaxed on the mic, it almost sounds like a saxophone or a soulful trumpet just being played casually by an expert in complete control. He never sounds too bored or too excited. It's a unique sound out of the genre.
My favorite lines in this song:
A black figure, in the middle of chaos and gun fire/So many raps about rims, I'm surprised n***** ain't become tires/On the street you turn code and then go screech/I tell em fuck em, like I do the police/The beast in runnin' rampant/I'm in between sheets tryna have sex that's tantric/But the ghetto, trying to make a get up, stand up anthem/You spit hot garbage son of Sanford/What you rappin' for to get fame or get rich?/I slap a n***** like you/And tell him Rick James bitch.

3. Cat Power - Satisfaction
This was one of the suggestions way back in November 06 (jesus, has it been that long?), when i threw together a hastily prepared and ill-conceived top 5 list of favorite covers.
I like this song a bunch. I love it when people take covers and completely make them their own, almost so it could have been the original song and nobody would have been any the wiser...
I also like the fact that she never sings that chorus. It's a tease...you want it to be there...you expect it to be there...and it never comes. It's like a secret she thinks about telling you and then decides not to. It drives me crazy and keeps me coming back for more. I've always had a thing for teases.

4. The Patient - Tool, off of Lateralus
This is just another good song on what has to be the best Tool album...and since there really is nothing specific to talk about...let's tell a story.
We talked on our group blog about what it was like back in the day to invite friends over to listen to music. Not to watch a movie or do something else, but to literally come over just to listen to an album. I couldn't remember the last time i did this until i heard this song. I have no idea what grade it was but Nole came over, and i'm pretty sure that some of the girls were with him, but i can't remember because Nole and i were so into listening to the bass lines and the drum bits that we weren't paying attention to anyone else. I can remember Nole sitting at the head of my parent's kitchen table, during the opening to Schism, trying to explain to the girls what kind of technique the guy must have used to create that sound because, at the time, there was no conceivable way that the bassist had enough fingers to play that opening. Anyway, he stands up, and he has his arms out like he's playing a bass and he's demonstrating in only the way Nole can when he's excited and everytime i hear that song, i'll think of it.

5. Hear You Me - Jimmy Eat World, off of Bleed American
Speaking of nostalgia...this song has such an old school quality to it that even though i didn't hear it until my junior year of college (maybe even senior), it still takes me back to moments in high school. There's just something about the reflective quality of it.
This song is about these 2 girls, in the midwest i think, who worked or hung out at a venue and apparently were really cool to all of the small travelling acts, giving them places to stay, feeding them, giving them goodie bags for the road, etc. After hearing Nole talk about touring and how some people just came out of the woodwork to be cool (and how sometimes you just had to straight up ask kids if you could crash....ha ha.) this song means a lot more to me. Anyway, i guess these two girls were very cool to Jim and the band and when they died in a car accident, the band wrote this song for them. "Hear you me" is something that one of the girls used to say a lot apparently. And i'm writing this without researching it, but i'm pretty sure when i read about it, there were a few other bands with songs about these same girls. Apparently they made an impact on a lot of people. May angels lead them in.

It's a federal holiday and i'm still doing to shufflle...and in the morning no less... Now that's dedication.

Much love. Have a great holiday.

Monday Morning Shuffle: The Hand Picked Edition

2007-05-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's hard to write the shuffle in the morning if you don't wake up until noon. And yes, i have a job that i probably should have gotten up and gone to, don't remind me. But last night i went to a bar in Old Town Scottsdale that i've been meaning to check out for a while. Martini Ranch has this 80s cover band called Metalhead that puts on the outfits and the wigs and pleather pants (complete with the lead singer holding a vodka bottle, assumingly full of water, that he carries around with him on stage...) and rocks out to all of your favorite 80s big hair hits.
Given that admitting you have a problem is the first step to overcoming it, i'm going to tell you that i have an unhealthy obsession with cover bands. I want to be in one, i want to play at crappy little bars for 4 people and sing my favorite songs and use someone else's talent and hard work to make myself look like a rockstar. So i have an addiction to cover bands...watching them, being in them, whatever. (Seriously though if you want to be in a cover band with me, e-mail me here: adammack.wright@gmail.com. I'm dead friggin serious. I can sing but can't play guitar or piano to save my life. I can play percussion though and i would definitely give Christopher Walken more than enough cowbell. Call me, please.)
Also, my other problem in need of admitting is that the only musical pleasure i have that is guiltier than liking Fall Out Boy is 80s hair music. I love it. And i'm not ashamed. I own VH1's sounds of the 80s and i've seen Ratt, Poison, Warrant, Quiet Riot, Slaughter, Great White, Bon Jovi, Kiss, Journey (Greatest band ever? Discuss.), Def Lepard and more in concert. I mean, come on. If you're going to go out and be overserved can you think of any music you'd rather hear? I can't. So anyway, that's why the shuffle is a little late today. And i feel awful...i have no voice and i'm definitely having the sweats and shakes. Totally worth it. Might do it again next sunday even.

So today i'm going to do something different. I usually get up early and write the shuffle at home using my iTunes on my computer. Well today, since i was running late, i decided to write it at work and ended up having the first 5 songs of my day be played on my iPod in the car. I heard some good songs that i want to talk about and so instead of being completely random today, i'm going to pick good ones that i want to talk about. Probably more fun that way anyway.

Anyway, on with the shuffle.

1. Know Your Enemy - Rage Against the Machine, off of Rage Against the Machine
Zach, where the hell have you been? We needed you more than ever over the last 8 years and you just straight up abandoned us. 9-11, Katrina, Iraq, Bush...seriously. We needed your guidance. I needed your fistpumping, angst-filled lyrics to get me through some tough times and you blew it. I'm mad at you and you need to make it up to me. Lecture over.
So another great story about this song and Rage...in high school Ron, Nole, Keegan (and maybe Adam Mortemore?) were supposed to play for this assembly. The theme of the whole thing was America and we were going to put this medley together of patritotic songs (Neil Diamond, Lee Greenwood, etc.) and rock out. Well the more we talked about it and messed around, the more we thought that we didn't really like the way things were being handled in our country and that it would really ruffle some feathers if we walked out and played some Rage Against the Machine instead. We picked this song, learned it, practiced, had it completely perfect and then completely chickened out. That's all i can think of whenever i hear this song....good times.

2. Don't Let Money Change Ya - Blackalicious
I've always loved this song. Banging beat with a bunch of different layers and tempos and the hook is really what makes it (I can't explain it...you'll have to listen to it.) Gift of Gab is one of the most talented MC's i've ever heard...just listen to the track Alphabet Aerobics for an idea...and he doesn't swear or talk about bling...he just flows and flows with these super intelligent and creatively rhymed lyrics. He's relatively political too which you know i don't mind...He did a track called Release with Zach De La Rocha and Saul Williams on the Blazing Arrow album that is totally amazing and you should check out also.
This song tells the story or a rapper coming up in the game, his success going to his head and his inevitable fall. Gift of Gab says the person's name is Sisqo, but i have no idea if he's talking about the Thong Song guy or not. That would be pretty ballsy i guess.
Anyway, if you like Kweli or Mos or Kanye definitely check out Blackalicious.

3. Goodbye Sky Harbor - Jimmy Eat World, off of Clarity
I'm not a huge Clarity fan to be honest ... not as big as some i know (the obsession borders on Radiohead-like for some people i've talked to...) but this song is one of my favorite Jimmy songs of all time. All 16 minutes of it. And i didn't even really appreciate it until after i read "A Prayer for Owen Meany." It's an amazing book that i know all of you who read this would really appreciate and Goodbye Sky Harbor's lyrics are taken directly for the book. I actually put it on when i read the last few pages of the book...it was a cool cross of mediums that i highly suggest.

4. The Widow - The Mars Volta, off of Frances the Mute
I once got a lapdance to this song...true story... and in Anchorage, Alaska no less. And it's completely irrelevant but can you think of a more random set of circumstances to connect you to a song? Because i can't.
The best part about it is that i would have never ever thought this song was sexy before but given that context...it's kind of a sexy song to me now...in a Nine Inch Nails - Closer kinda way...just dark and melodic and the girl had jet black hair and was kinda dark and melodic herself and now i have a Pavlovian response to it.
I told the girl after the dance that i really loved the song and that it was probably the most random song to hear in a strip club ever and she said, "Yeah, and i just love the girl's voice too." AND COMPLETELY RUINED IT FOR ME. That's the last time i give a stripper musical credit.

5. Brothers on a Hotel Bed - Death Cab for Cutie, off of Plans
This song never ceases to blow my mind. It is primarily my reason for wanting to learn piano, just so i can sit down in a bar or at a friend's house and play the first few chords of it and tear everyone's heart out with the beauty of those first few notes.

And that's all their is to say about that.

I'll leave you with a gift: A New Lauryn Hill song!

Have fun out there kids.

My Take on Rap Music

2007-05-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

So this conversation has been going on for a while and yielded some really interesting thoughts and points. The fans (Ron, Kevo and I to varying degrees) have rallied to the genre's defense and the detractors have expressed valid points that i would have dismissed a few years back but now are starting to grow on me...most specifically that the music that people listen to does have an affect on them.

I have a few concerns before i launch into this...one of which is that i'm not sure where to post it. Do i post it on the music blog because it's about rap music or do i post it on the socio-political blog because it is a social commentary. One of these days i'm just going to have to consolidate the damn things...i digress.

My other concern in typing this is that i'm sitting in a house i own, typing on a relatively top-of -the-line computer that i also own, in one of the more affluent neighborhoods in the entire country, Scottsdale, AZ. Now i don't live in the nicest part of the nicest neighborhood in town but still...i'm not living in the projects or ghettos -- my town doesn't really have too much in the way of these types of neighborhoods even -- so how am i going to sit here and talk about rap music and the plight of black people and music's affect on the inner city when, hell, i've never really even been to an inner city for fuck's sake... So i'm a bit torn, but i'm going to press forward. Here's the deal. In the paraphrased words of Ben Folds, i'm a suburban white kid with a relative life difficulty of ZERO. Everything i am going to write has been viewed through that scope and everything you see is going to have to be read through that lens and digested accordingly. Disclaimer over.

My first hip-hop CD ever was Wyclef - The Carnival. I bought the edited version at a walmart in Jackson Hole Wyoming because i desperately needed new music and i wanted to piss my mom off by buying a rap CD, i think. I listened to this CD all summer and ended up liking almost every song on the CD, the beats appealed to me and the lyrics stuck in my head. I've always been able to memorize lyrics in about 3 listens of a song and knowing all the strange lyrics (including the song in Haitian french) just worked for some reason. It's a fun, light-hearted CD and i felt that a lot of the more "gangster" lyrics were tongue-in-cheek anyway. When they talked about shooting people (and i'm pretty damn sure that the collective body count of Wyclef, Lauryn Hill, Pras Well, Melky Sedek, and the others on this CD don't climb too high...) it seemed more along the lines of watching a mob movie or playing a violent video game than people actually discussing reality. It still does. I can watch the Godfather and not put a hit out on my enemies. I can watch Goodfellas and not start selling blow. I can steal a car and shoot a hooker in Grand Theft Auto and never even remotely consider doing these things in real life. Hereto, therefore, i can listen to rap music and not (even subliminally) start thinking that the actions spoken of are even the slightest bit OK. As Kevin put it in his comments, even a lifetime of listening to NWA has never caused Kevo to reach back like a pimp and smack a ho. The same, obviously, goes for me. One of my favorite rap songs of all time is "Ain't No Fun" by Snoop and that's about the filthiest song i've ever heard. I've always looked at it as a parody and never thought that any human being ever would listen to it and consciously think "You know what? I gotta start treating women like this. It sounds great!"

As i've said before, misogynistic and degrading lyrics are not new, and they're certainly not mutually exclusive to black people. Over the course of the history of music, dating back to African tribes thousands of years ago, there is evidence that words and sound were combined to create music in rituals and traditions that were made to lower and debase women and raise up the confidence and superiority of the men (the warriors). It has been passed down for thousands of years and as bad as our music seems today, we (as in today's humans) definitely didn't invent it. Like i say all the time, and i've pointed out in often in my Everything is A-Ok blog, we really haven't evolved that much. We're not that much different, that much more mature or that much smarter than our ancestors of thousands of years ago. Evolution is a process that takes millions of years. We've advanced an iota. We still beat our wives and televise it on Cops. We're not any better. I know we'd like to think that we are, but we're not. At all.

Now i'm not saying that it's OK, i'm just trying to provide some context. We have come a long way in our respect and treatment of women and they have proven their great worth to us ignoramus men time and time again throughout history. I'm not saying that because tribes of indigenous people treated their women poorly 8,000 years ago, that it's OK today. It's not.

Music has always been a great communicator of thoughts and ideas. Musically talented people have always been the story tellers and instant messengers of every generation. When white people ripped Africans from their continent to bring them to the U.S. as slaves, the negroe spiritual was born. They weren't allowed to gather in great numbers so they passed on messages of hope and strength through music. Music is, and always will be, a medium in which ideas and messages are carried on. So, i suppose i have no choice but to finally admit that music, and more importantly the message contained in that music, is a powerful thing and to varying degrees has an affect on all of us. It would be ignorant (and i've been accused of ignorance a time or two) to assume otherwise.

Here's where it gets sticky and entirely friggin off topic. If music is a great communicator and it's messages affect us no matter what (and i think that they do.) then it becomes a matter of right and wrong vs. censorship vs. responsibility. Earlier in the post when i talked about the different kinds of violent and inappropriate media that i've taken in throughout my life and how it hasn't affected me, i meant that it hasn't spurred me into violent and/or illegal actions. To say that it hasn't affected me at all would be completely incorrect. I have certainly had major emotional reactions to music. I've admitted time and time again in this very space that i love music that makes me feel something, that gets something out of me and that i hate music that doesn't move me in some way, no matter how brilliant the musicians that created it may have been. I have heard songs whose lyrics struck me at a particular time and motivated me to change the way i thought about certain situations or people; and in the end, some of those changes in perspective have even caused me to act differently the next time i faced the situation. So, if you want to oversimplify it, i'll go ahead and admit it: Music at some point in my life has driven me to take an action. I chalk up the fact that i've never slapped a ho to the fact that my parents taught me the difference between right and wrong. I know better. I know that would be wrong, so i don't do it. It would be easy for me, as an affluent white male from a good part of town with parents who cared about me and are still married, to write off the societal implications of rap lyrics by saying, "Well, if parents would just teach their kids right from wrong..." and wipe my hands of all the extenuating circumstances. But that wouldn't be fair. Parents are just like any other group of people, a few good ones and a whole lot of shitty ones. So we can't rely on parents to tell their kids, "Hey, it's fine if you listen to Dre. Just know that you can't cap a nigga just because Dre said so." It's never going to happen. Some parents just don't give a shit and so we'll always end up with kids who have no concept of the right way to behave. It'll never change.

So then what? Do we rely on the government to censor the music we listen to so that kids with crappy parents don't act out lyrics they hear? I think that's a slippery slope and one that is so obviously a bad idea that we don't even need to discuss it. We do still live in America, and despite all that is happening around us, we do still hang on to a few scraps of freedom ie. it's ok for the government to censor and hide war news, but it's not OK to censor our rap music. That's where we draw the line. Makes perfect sense, right?

So the third option is responsibility. When Talib Kweli has a forum with 4th and 5th graders or Russell Simmons holds a hip hop summit, that is practicing responsibility. Still, is it just me, or do you not see Mims, Yung Joc, 50 Cent and Suge Knight lining up to host these things?? It's just never going to happen on a wide scale. There's no interest in it and more importantly, there's no damn money in it. If it was human nature to be responsible, we wouldn't still have cigarettes or liquor or drugs or television or cheeseburgers (BORING!)...in fact, we wouldn't even be having this conversation in the first place. So i'm not going to hold my breath and wait for the rappers and hip hop artists to make sweeping changes in the name of responsibility. Call me a pessimist, but it ain't friggin happening. From the very top (white) executive at the top record label, to the kid selling his demo on the corner, there is absolutely no interest -- financially or otherwise -- in protecting the children from dirty, obscene, irresponsible lyrics.

So what is rap to do? Or rather, what are we to do about rap? Here's 2 possible answers. The first one cynical and the 2nd, somewhat optimistic.

It goes completely out of style as a genre.
And that's it. That's the only feasible way that rap lyrics will ever be OK. For them not to exist at all. And if they exist, for people not to give a shit. You don't hear anyone complaining about how Polka is ruining our children, do you? Any news lately on the kids who were jailed because of the Waltz? How about that congressional hearing on Bach and Chopin? All of those things went out of style, became obsolete and are no longer affecting our culture. If rap music goes this way, the discussion will go away.

And the second:
Mos Def has this speech at the beginning to Black on Both Sides (my favorite hip hop album ever) and he says something along the lines of, "Hip hop is the people. We are hip hop. And hip hop won't get better until the people get better. So when you ask me, 'hey Mos, what's gonna happen with hip hop?' i say, 'what's gonna happen with us?' Hip hop will get better when the people get better."
And that's the poignant line for me. Hip hop will get better, when the people get better. That's the only solution.

Can the people get better? We will see.

Kanye Graduates

2007-05-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

Here's the first track leaked from Kanye's upcoming CD, Graduation.

And i like it, so far. We'll see what the rest of the CD has in store.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-05-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

What a fun musical weekend. Last Thursday i decided that my computer needed a tune up and some routine maintenance. So i backed up all 20 gigs of music from my computer to my external hard drive and then deleted it. Yup, all 20 gigs, right off of my computer. That was a pretty scary "yes" button to click when the computer asked, "Are you sure you want to delete 'my music' and everything it contains?" But i went with it, confident that everything was backed up safely on the external drive. Well everything went smoothly until i tried to move all the music back onto my computer. You see, when i download music or someone sends me a CD, it is automatically saved to my external drive, then i drag it over to my computer, listen to it and then either keep it or delete it. The problem arose because as a result of this practice, i've ended up with somewhere near 30Gbs of music on the external and only room for 20Gb on my computer...so when i clicked and dragged it only copied about 2/3rds of the library back on my computer. From there i had to manually go through and delete some things (i have a lot of stand-up comedy and books on tape for road trip purposes) and then manually add in the other 1/3rd of my library until iTunes stopped shoving all those little exclamation points at me. It probably took about 10 hours collectively including the time it took to copy files over (the little ticker would say there were 4 minute remaining and then it would take 20...). So a lot of fun was had reorganizing and restructuring the folder, and also contemplating what music i have on my iTunes that i absolutely never listen to and can delete forever without even regretting. So that may have to be a blog post of its own...we'll call it, "Stuff I Deleted And Couldn't Care Less About." Could be fun, could start some fights, we'll see if i get to it.

Also, Courtney sent me a link to this web site today...it's a site where people can write in and report on things they've overheard other people say. Courtney lives in Brooklyn (Bitties in the BK Lounge!) so her favorite part of the site is "Overheard in New York" (they also have overheard in the office, overheard at the beach, etc.). Emo jokes never get old, so today's Overheard in New York post is hilarious. Find it here: Really, What Else is There to be Sad About?

Anyway, on with the shuffle:

1. Mississippi Queen - Mountain
This song has everything...a catchy hook, ripping guitar and a really really healthy dose of Cowbell...and that's what everyone needs, more cowbell.
I used to work in a warehouse packing boxes in high school and we either listened to conservative talk radio all day or sometimes i would switch it to the Classic Rock station just to preserve my sanity. Well this song, at the time, was pretty much played hourly. You've heard it, i know you have, you just don't know it. Download it and you'll be like, "Damn, Adam was right, i've definitely heard that song 50 times."
And one final note, who names their band "Mountain"??? There are no bands called River, or Tree, or Planet, so why Mountain? That's like having the balls to change your name from Gordon to Sting...oh wait.

2. Drunkship of Lanterns - The Mars Volta, off of De-Loused in the Comatorium
Norah Jones came on and i skipped it because after Mountain, i just needed something that would keep pace. I am NOT in a Norah mood at all right now. Moving on.
If i have to tell you anything about The Mars Volta, this CD or any detail of their amazingness then well, you're not a regular reader of the shuffle. I am pretty sure that everyone who reads this is aware of The Mars Volta and how good this CD is. I've recently gotten back into it and have been reminded how good it is. It's just 72 minutes of heart-pumping, thrashing, creative and explosive genius. This is really one of the best albums of the decade in my opinion just because of the chances they took in creating an album that didn't have any semblance of a mainstream single on it. This album has absolutely zero marketability to the common music listener and wow, what a concept, but that just doesn't happen at all anymore these days.
My only objection to it, and it seems they've gotten worse at this through subsequent albums, is the pointless ambient noise that breaks up the songs...i mean, stop making noise just for the sake of making noise. I like to think that i get music, i understand why bands and artists and producers do certain things but i've never understood the 4 minute interludes of kids playing on the playground intermixed with someone breaking wineglasses filled with cooking sherry, over an atonal and out of rhythm techno beat...i just don't get it. Please stop doing this. Frances the Mute was ruined by this and Tool's 10,000 days was borderline bad because of it as well. Please stop this immediately.

3. We Both Go Down Together - The Decemberists, off of Picaresque
My verdict is still out on The Decemberists. Some of their stuff is amazing...and some of it just sounds exactly the same. I like when they step out of the mold and use different tempos and sounds but their middle of the road tunes are kind of annoying. The guys voice kinda grates on me on their unadventurous songs. When they take a chance instrumentally, then it works. I don't know if that makes sense but i guess when i'm listening to the music more than the vocals then i don't notice how his voice makes me want to stab myself in the eardrum with a rusty spike. On the songs that aren't musically compelling, well i'm heading to construction sites to find bent rebar to hit myself in the skull with. Does that make more sense?

4. Burn - Ray LaMontagne, off of Trouble
See? This is what i meant last week about the Shuffle kinda getting boring. I've written about every single one of these bands before. Maybe it's my music collection that is getting boring, i don't know.
I chose not to skip this song because i have really been listening to Ray a lot more lately. He is coming up in the mainstream pretty fast these days and i wanted to make sure i had a good understanding of him before he wins a Grammy so i can make fun of all the people that will just be hearing him for the first time. Cuz i'm shallow like that.
Anyway, i'm not really sure about his voice sometimes. It is amazing but sometimes it sounds like he's trying too heard to emote certain feelings instead of just reaching back and whaling on the song. I'm not sure. Just like Decemberists, Andrew Bird, Iron & Wine and others, sometimes it sounds amazing and sometimes it sounds fabricated. All in all, i really like Ray LaMontagne though...if you haven't had a chance to pick him up, i highly suggest it.

5. Real - Lupe Fiasco, off of Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor
I haven't become attached to Lupe in the same ways that i became attached to Common, Kanye, Talib and Mos, but that doesn't mean he's not good. He is. His voice is definitely different. It's high for a rapper and he sounds like a little kid. but that almost gives it an endearing quality when he's on tracks with other big rappers that have that hip-hop growl perfected. He sounds like the little kid who is just flowing circles around the big boys.
He has a lot of interesting stuff to say in his lyrics, and you gotta love that his first big single was about skateboarding. He's kind of turned into the hardline Kanye. I mean, Kanye took some chances with his lyrics and the stuff he said in public, but he's kinda stepped back from that since then because he didn't like the heat and backlash that came with it. He's too mainstream to be saying stuff like that apparently and that's really too bad. That's one of the reasons i liked him. But Lupe is saying the same stuff (often over the same exact beats since they produce together) and not backing down from it.
If Lupe keeps it up, i'll be a fan. I think his voice and his Muslim background will keep him from ever becoming too mainstream. Too bad for him, great for us.
And just to close, why don't rappers from the Chi get more respect? Everyone is all New York this, Compton that, Dirty south this...there are a ton of really, really good artists from Chicago and you never hear anyone talk about it. Common, Kanye, Lupe, these are household names and all anyone can talk about is Crunk Juice and this is why i'm hot. Seriously, come on.

Alright, that's enough for today. This has been the easiest shuffle to write in a while. Thanks goes out to my iTunes for picking out some decent shit to talk about. Maybe that little deletion over the weekend changed it's attitude for a while.

You might hear from me this week again so check back. Have a good one.

Drinking Songs!

2007-05-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well it's Friday, just a few hours from Happy Hour and i just came across this post.

Apparently these guys made a top 100 list of the best drinking songs ever. Here are the top 10.

I don't know all of them but i will be doing some downloading this weekend for sure.

What are your favorite bar songs, karaoke songs, Irish sea chanteys, etc.?

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-05-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

1. 21st Century - Red Hot Chili Peppers, off of Stadium Arcadium
Lyrics that don't make any sense + catchy chorus + super-funked out bass line = Every RHCP song you've ever heard.

2. Friend of The Devil - Counting Crows, off of Films About Ghosts
Somber mournful lead singer + minor key piano + high sing-along factor = Every Counting Crows song you've ever heard. (We seem to have reached a common theme here...)

3. Guillotine - Cascara
This should be fun.

I'm probably one of 8 people in the world with a recording of this song and i was really hoping that Nole would become a famous drummer so i could be interviewed on Behind The Music and sell unreleased bootlegs and B-sides of their first few songs to all the scenester kids. Alas, it wasn't meant to be and i'm left with nostalgic recordings of songs called, "This Song Can't Be About Blowing Stuff Up Because of Terrorism." But there was a time when i would walk from my house in Tempe down to the Big Fish pub and watch Nole and company tear the place up with 17 people in the audience and me dancing around like a jackass right up front. Those were the days... (I'd love to hear what you have to say about this Nole...)

4. Please Bleed - Ben Harper, off of Burn To Shine
I've never really quite had the appreciation for Ben Harper as i should have but he really is one of the best artists of our time and definitely under-appreciated. This song is one of my particular favorites because of the up tempo beat and the almost thrash metal chorus. Ben is usually a pretty subdued guy but this song rocks it out hard and has a pretty angry edge to it. "Please bleed/ so i know that you are real/ so i know that you can feel / the damage that you've done / whoa who have i become/ to myself i am numb." Yikes.

5. Tell Me A Lie - Griffin House, off of Lost and Found
I've talked about him before but if you haven't listened to Griffin House yet, get to it. He's pretty top notch and right down my alley right now. I've been craving some simpler tunes lately and a lot of the "guy and his guitar" tracks have been in heavy rotation these days. I really like the effect that they put on the guitar in this song too. Just listen to it. Trust me.

Alright, we might have to switch up the Monday Morning Shuffle. It's getting to the point where i've said pretty much all their is to say and i hope it's not as boring to read as it's getting to write. I might have to come up with some new ideas for posts. Anyone have any thoughts?

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-04-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

First off, did anyone go to Coachella? If so, this space is yours to write a review or a little recap of your experience. I'm always open to guest bloggers so if you're interested, write me at adammack.wright@gmail.com.

I really want to go next year but inevitably i'll look at the ticket prices and the logistics of getting there and the fact that i'd be watching some of my favorite bands with 180,000 other people and decide it's not my scene. I am sad that i missed this though.

Last week i ended up with strep throat. I could barely swallow for a week, let alone eat, so that was a ton of fun. I got some antibiotics and started feeling better by Saturday, almost a week later. It was pretty awful. Anyway, i kinda have this routine on Sunday nights to order Chinese food and catch up on all of my DVRed shows. Well last night i ordered from a new place just to try something new. Well imagine my surprise when i wake up this morning, not to my alarm clock, but to an overwhelming (and inevitably unstoppable...) desire to throw up . Yup, so i may be on my way to food poisoning now...let's hope it passes quickly. I can't catch a break lately.

Let's try and get through the shuffle before this gets any worse.

1. Thick As A Brick - Jethro Tull
A pretty good start to the morning. A few weeks ago i talked about the Dispatch song "Walk With You" and the fact that it had this low-register flute part that i loved. Well every Jethro Tull song sounds like that. I'm not sure any other band in history was incorporated the flute into their songs as often and as successfully as Jethro Tull and it gave every song such a unique sound. Their sound is unmistakable and enjoyable.

2. Make It A Part - Further Seems Forever, off of Hide Nothing
This CD turned out really really well considering this was the third reincarnation of FSF. It's much less screamy than its predecessors and actually went for much more of a rock and roll sound (power chords, big drums, powerful vocalist) than an emo sound (punk-inspired drums and guitar hooks, high vocal harmonies, screaming).
That being said, this CD runs together. You can listen to the entire thing without paying a ton of attention and you would be hard pressed to notice any huge difference from song to song. Another knock on this CD would be that it is only 9 songs long. They added 3-4 acoustic tracks on the end but it's just acoustic versions of the song on the CD. Kinda lame.

3. Black Queen - Stephen Stills
This is a live song of Stills by himself. He is introduced and comes out on stage and begins to tell a story about an old black man that worked at a store by his house where he grew up and how this guy would sit out back after work and play the blues on his guitar. And not just because he knew how to play guitar or liked that genre of music, but for the real reason that blues music exists...because the guy actually had the blues.
So Stills is playing this opening blues riff and something must have happened in the audience because you can hear a bunch of people laughing in the audience...he keeps jamming on this guitar riff but stops singing for a few bars, until the laughing dies down. When the audience is completely quiet he says, "One thing...the blues ain't....is funny..." in rhythm with the music and just keeps on jamming through the song. The rest of the audience roars in applause as he puts these people in their place. Top notch.

4. Big Balls - AC/DC
This is one of the best Bon Scott-era AC/DC songs in existence and one of the best double-entendres to every be placed in heavy rotation on FM radio in history.
"Some balls are held for charity/And some for fancy dress/But when they're held for pleasure/They're the balls that I like best/My balls are always bouncing/To the left and to the right/It's my belief that my big balls/Should be held every night."
Can you imagine them playing this on the radio today? Not if Clear Channel has anything to say about it.

5. Capital H - Motion City Soundtrack, off of I Am The Movie
I've talked about Motion City before and it's weird that they came on the shuffle today because i spent most of yesterday listening to their two albums.
The Moog keyboard really became the defining sound on this album and is probably the best on this song. And it's just a 2 minute, 52 second sprint to the finish line. This is a top-10 driving song of all time and is just top-notch fun from the drums to the guitar to the fact that the lyrics make absolutely no friggin sense at all. Good times.

Alright, that's enough for today. I'm off to lay down or throw up, i can't tell which.

Monday Morning Shuffle: The Super Sick edition

2007-04-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Meaning i'm sick, not that the shuffle is sick as in good.

I tried to write it, i really did. But today's shuffle has been cancelled due to illness. Check back on Wednsday when the antibiotics kick in.

Adam

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-04-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

On a long drive this weekend I attempted to listen to the following 3 CDs:

1. The Beta Band – 3 E.P.s
2. Radiohead – Kid A (again)
3. Thom Yorke – Eraser

I didn’t make it through a single one. I was tired on the drive and needed something that would keep my interest and engage me, as opposed to just being really clever background music. It didn’t happen.
I’m really making an effort to like this genre of music but it just doesn’t work for me. I’m about ready to quit apologizing for it.

Anyway, I did have an awesome experience with Andrew Bird and The Mysterious Production of Eggs while lying on Mission Beach Saturday afternoon. After a few beers and some hot sun, I pulled on the headphones for a little nap and I have to admit, that was one of the more spiritual moments I’ve had in a long time. It was just the perfect soundtrack to a nap in the sun. I actually stopped about 6 songs in and told the people I was with about the moment I was having. Pretty good stuff. (Again, someone send me the new CD if you have it.)

On with the shuffle:
1. Black And White Town – Doves, off of Some Cities
I feel like I’ve done this before…yup, sure have...

Starting over.

1. Walk With You - Dispatch
This song is just plain beautiful. The first few minutes have this really calming guitar part behind a flute solo in a very low register. Something about the low notes on a flute sound special somehow. I don't know how to describe it really. It just sounds, well, good.
Anyway, this is an amazing song and one of my favorites from Dispatch. The lyrics are poignant and the song just flows along beautifully. Alright, i'll stop gushing.
Dispatch gets caught up in that backward white hat, frat boy, college rock set, but they are a very talented band who, aside from being socially conscious, are just plain good to listen to. Music as it was meant to be, i think. Not too complicated, just some guitars, percussion and nice vocal harmonies. Sometimes the beauty is in the simplicity.

2. The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson
Please, like i'm going to talk about a Michael Jackson song and do it justice. All pedophilic tendencies aside, he's one of the greatest musicians/performers of our time. Madonna steals children from Africa, Michael sleeps in the same bed with them. Who is worse?

3. When You Wasn't Famous - The Streets, off the The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
The Streets is a one man, gay British hip-hop act. And that's every bit as weird as it sounds.
It's even weirder that this song is about how it's easy to pick up girls when you're famous, but the cat is gay...yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either.
And he doesn't so much rap as just talk over a beat. I don't know. It's bizarre but totally worth listening to, just because of the novelty of the sound.

4. Rolling With Heat - The Roots, off of Phrenology
This song features Talib Kweli so you know i love it. Having The Roots and Kweli on the same track is probably my second favorite collaboration in the history of hip-hop (Blackstar obviously being the first. )
And...that's pretty much all i have to say about that.

5. Moo-Goo Gai Pan - Grace Like Gravity
This is one of my favorite songs from the now defunct Boulder, CO-based punk band. I loved these guys when i went to school there. I saw them every time they played live and listened to them on my headphones just about every time i went snowboarding (so about 120 times). One night they covered One Song, Glory from the musical Rent and i almost went apeshit (yes, i like musical theater, you have a problem with that?)
Anyway, the first time i went to see them was just to hang out with some people from the snowboard team and they immediately impressed me. Seeing a band live before you hear anything by them is a really weird experience and one that i have a hard time being present for. I just get so distracted by everything else going on around me that i have a hard time getting into the music and really deciding if i like it or not. But these guys just had some really catchy hooks and immediately drew me in.
They used to play a lot of shows at this bar/restaurant called K's China, which was a Chinese restaurant on The Hill (notoriously responsible for food poisoning and the scoots...) and it turned into a bar at night. It was always packed and had a roof area that would have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people if there was ever a fire or emergency up there. I mean, there was only one small stairway down and at least 300 people on the roof. I can't figure out why it was never shut down. My only time on the roof, i found myself looking at the neighboring buildings and figuring out my escape plan if something crazy happened. Not good. Well anyway, they named all the songs on this CD after dishes at K's China. Kinda weird to say that your favorite song is Lo Mein, but hey.

Alright, i'll do better next time.

The Shuffle Setting Chaos Theory

2007-04-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

Last night i was working late and had my iPod blasting through the office. The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again comes on and i'm not really paying attention but when the song ends i seem to think that it repeated because the songs starts over at the beginning.

Then it hits me that the thing is on shuffle by songs and that i have 2 versions of Won't Get Fooled Again on my iPod. For that song to play twice in a row, the shuffle had to go through it's algorithm and happened to choose the exact same song by the exact same band. And sure enough, that's what happened.

Nothing can be completely random. Not even an iPod. Everything is interconnected. (i'm probably reading too much into this, aren't i?)

Sad News For Cash Fans

2007-04-10T17:53:00.001-07:00

My condolences to Bee Gee Barry Gib and Nole. Johnny Cash's Lakeside House Burned in Fire.

Monday Afternoon Shuffle

2007-04-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

I totally had the whole fucking thing written this morning and my pain-in-the-ass computer went apeshit and closed all the Explorer windows (yea, yea, i know Mac fans. I should have a powerbook with firefox. I get it. Now one of you pony up the 3k i'll need for it or shut the hell up about it eh?) So anyway, i decided to start over. This morning's wasn't that good anyway. Also, in a related note, i should have learned my lesson and be writing this in a Word .doc so if something crashes it'll auto save and i won't lose the whole thing right? Well guess who is a slow learner? You guessed it. Me. So if this thing crashes again and i lose another shuffle just click over to Everything is A-OK and you'll see that Today's Sign Of The Apocalypse is a youtube clip of me rampaging down the streets killing everything in my path. Should be fun.

On with the shuffle, part II. (Side note...because i've been doing the shuffle for a couple of months now, it is getting increasingly difficult for the shuffle to pick music and bands i've never talked about before...You'd think with 5k songs, it wouldn't be possible but color me surprised, it is. So i'll be skipping forward a little more than normal and trying to find some shit i can actually talk about. It shouldn't really matter and you'd probably never even notice, i just wanted to let you know.)

1. Sullivan Street - Counting Crows, off of August And Everything After
This is one of the greatest albums ever and i challenge anyone who thinks otherwise to a fight to the death. Seriously, i'll ruin you.

This album is great because it is kind of a melancholy little mix of songs but the lyrics and songwriting is incredible. What gets me the most is that this is the single greatest example of the importance of song order that i've ever encountered. They just did a perfect job. The CD starts off with a mix of happy and sad and then gets pretty damn sad for 4 -5 songs before bringing this total feeling of catharsis in A Murder of One to end the disk. It's my favorite CD to listen to from beginning to end and even if i'm not paying attention to it, i can still feel it affect my moods as we go through it. Does anyone else feel that way about this album or is this just one of those that caught me?

2. Song For Holly - Esthero
This song came off of the "Chill Mix" that Erika discovered in high school. It's still, without a doubt, one of the best mixes ever and i'll just go ahead and damn the repercussion for saying this, but it's one of the best sex CDs ever. Seriously, if all you married and sexually active people reading this want some music to get busy to, just let me know and i'll copy it for you. My response to this CD is almost pavlovian at this point. (And if you're smart enough to understand that reference then you're probably smart enough for me to not have to explain the rest of it.)
This song is definitely before its time as well considering the mix of rock and techno beats. It wouldn't even bat an eye today. The girl's voice is cool too. Kind of a pre-Radiohead Imogen Heap, if you will.

3. Walk - Snuff, off of Survival of the Fattest
I've talked about this album before. My cousin left it in my CD player when i was seriously like 12 or something and it was my first taste of Punk music. I had no idea who NOFX or No Use For A Name were until this CD (and i would argue till much, much later, because we didn't have these fancy computers then that you could plug a CD in and it would tell you who it was yet. God, how awful.). Anyway this song definitely jolted me out of my Chill Mix nostalgia in a hurry. It is punk in every sense of the word, from the poor vocals to the stereotypical punk drum beat. Great stuff. Also, this is becoming kind of the Erika edition of the shuffle, because she loved the "Pants are Falling Down" song from this album. Let's move on.

4. Laugh Before You Grin - Lydia, off of This December; It's One More and I'm Free
I really like Lydia, or rather, i really wish i really liked Lydia. I mean, i do like them. The female vocals are incredible, haunting, inspiring, goose-bump inducing and all the rest, but i just can't get into Leighton's vocals. I kinda feel bad saying this because the kid almost died on their last tour, but the whispering just doesn't work for me (See: John Mayer, Iron & Wine). All the same, i really actually do love this song. And my previous comment was meant more towards the album as a whole than just this song.
Ok, never mind all that i've said. They're great and i can't wait until they're famous and i can tell people that they're from Arizona and i loved them way back when.

5. Skin is, My - Andrew Bird, off of Andrew Bird and The Mysterious Production of Eggs
Apparently his new CD is amazing and if someone has it, go ahead and give it to me now.
(Just to complete the Erika references in this shuffle, Andrew Bird is on Righteous Babe Records, Ani DiFranco's label.... Seriously, what's up with this?)
Anyway, i love this song and so far i'm a big fan of Andrew's. The guitar work is impeccable, the vocals good, the lyrics innovative enough to keep me interested. Count me as a fan and get me his new CD.

Alright, that's far more shuffle than i'm used to writing in a day. Hopefully this one will work (knocking on wood til my knuckles bleed...)

Another Bright Eyes Leak

2007-04-04T10:01:00.000-07:00

I guess CP already has the entire CD so i hope somebody else cares...

Bright Eyes - Susan Miller Rag

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-04-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

First off, congratulations to long-time friend Donny Ducote and his band, My Sister in 1994, for their successful CD release party at the Modified last night. Great show and i'm proud of you guys. (One side note, why is it always so damn hot in the Modified??? Open a door or something for god's sake. I can't remember being there a single time and not sweating profusely. Not good.)

On with the Shuffle:
1. Bones - The Killers, off of Sam's Town
Last week i made a top 5 list of music so far in 2007. I tried to post it and Blogger decided to take a dump on it and delete it. So it doesn't exist anymore. I'm going to try and redo it sometime this week, we'll see. Anyway, my point in telling you that is that Sam's Town was #4 on my Top 5 list of pleasant surprises. The Killer's were ripe for a Kanye West Award (awarded to boring, ego driven and otherwise god-awful Sophomore albums...) but they did pretty well i think. There are some weird moments but overall i like the album. And i like what they did on this song as well. I like the choir sounding parts. On the right sound system these can actually sound pretty overwhelming and awesome.

2. Chick Magnet - MXPX
Wow, flashback to 11th grade. I saw MXPX in Salt Lake City my junior year on the Invasion Ski/Snowboard trip. It was in this very cool theater and we were moshing it up and dancing around. This song came on and we were all dancing around in the big circle and when the chorus kicked in we all started moshing. Then, I got kicked in the nuts. Hard.
I spent the rest of the evening curled up on the brick floor in the corner trying to recover. I actually seem to remember throwing up because of it. It was one of the all time hardest nut shots ever and that's what i remember every time i hear this song. Awesome. Let's move on.

3. Diamond from Sierra Leone - Kanye West, off of Late Registration
How great is the shuffle that i just talked shit about this album and i get a song from it just one song later. Oh well.
I've already discussed Kanye probably far more than i should in this space so i won't dig too deep into this song. I actually like it. Relative to the CD this one isn't bad. And i'm happy that Kanye actually discussed a subject matter that is difficult and brought some awareness to an otherwise bling-obsessed culture.
There is more than a hint of hypocrisy in this track but that shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone. And Kanye completely loses me on the "Foreva eva?" parts. I appreciate the reference to Outkast but it's just stupid, messes with the flow of the song and actually takes some of the seriousness out of the track. Oh well. The rumor is that a new Kanye CD will be out this year. Here's hoping he redeems himself.

4. Out From Under - Incubus, off of Make Yourself
The first line of this song is, "To resist is to piss in the wind, anyone who does will end up smelling." That's a pretty great friggin metaphor.
And speaking of hypocrisy, how great is it that Incubus writes this song about being individual and not giving in to the masses and not conforming and then they become TRL poster children and absolutely lay a goose egg on every CD since Morning View? Way to go guys.

5. Everything's Not Lost - Coldplay, off of Parachutes
Weird Shuffle today. I mean, i know it's supposed to be random but usually there is a bit more continuity than this.
Anyway, as far as Coldplay goes, this is one of my favorite songs. I really, really like the guitar in the chorus. It just catches me the right way. This entire CD was pretty good (for Coldplay) and i guess that's why this is the album that made them famous. Makes sense right?
That being said, I completely lost respect for them in every way after watching their Storytellers the other night. I mean, the dude talks about how when he wrote Yellow that the chorus was missing something and he couldn't think of what to put there and he looked around the room and saw a YellowPages and said, "They were all yellow." and it fit. So really, there's no meaning in that song at all...he just looks around the room and says words and they turn into multi-platinum albums... I cringe to think that more of my favorite artists write like this and even worse to think that the songs that mean the most to me were just bullshitted by a guy looking around the room and trying to fill holes in the song. I don't know how i'd handle that.
Also, Chris Martin is inspired by porn. Can't wait till Apple grows up and hears that...

Alright, more later this week. Probably.

Fan of Bright Eyes?

2007-03-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Two songs from their upcoming CD leaked this morning, and you can find them here. (At least until their label finds out.)

I'm not a huge fan, but i'm willing to give it a listen and see what i've been missing, if anything.

Don't say i never gave ya nothing.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-03-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

Alright, i think we're back in business. I have no idea what happened to my computer, it just decided not to work for a good 3 days, and then all of a sudden, came back to life and acted like nothing was wrong. Weird.

Anyway, i had a fun and musical birthday weekend. Went to some clubs and listened to the DJs intently (turntables are my next purchase), dusted my piano off and even played some guitar. It kind of amazed me how much i remember how to play. Kinda like riding a bike...now just imagine if i actually gave enough of a shit to practice. I think i'd be pretty decent. Anyway, i'm making some moves to get more and more involved with music performance. Once i figure out how to spin, i'm going to get my own night to DJ somewhere and then once i get some more guitar practice, i have an idea for a lounge act that i've always wanted to do. I'm writing this so someone might hold me to it. I don't really have any time to do this stuff but maybe i'll actually follow through on something one of these days.

Anyway, on with the shuffle:

1. King Without a Crown - Matisyahu, off of Live at Stubb's
If you haven't heard of Matisyahu yet, you've probably been in a cave. He's just about the most popular hesidic Jewish rapper/reggae artist around (in history?). And he takes the stage looking like this:

What more do you need? Just listen to him.

2. Kick Out The Jams - Rage Against the Machine, off of Renegades
This is definitely in the top 100 favorite songs of all time i think. It was originally done by MC5 and according to Wikipedia, it has been covered by, "The Presidents of the United States of America on their eponymous debut album in 1995, by hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult on their 1978 live album Some Enchanted Evening, Rage Against the Machine on their album Renegades (2000), Henry Rollins with Bad Brains for the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack, Africa Bambaataa, Monster Magnet, Pearl Jam on their 2005 South American tour in Mexico and Brazil, Japanese rockers Guitar Wolf on their debut album Run Wolf Run, Jeff Buckley, whose version was released on his posthumous "legacy edition" of Grace on the bonus CD of unreleased songs, Entombed on the EP Family Favourites and Give Up the Ghost (formerly American Nightmare) on their Year One comp."

This song first made its buzz not because of the song itself but because on the album, lead singer Rob Tyner yelled out, "Kick out the jams MOTHERFUCKER!" and then adamantly refused to let it be edited out of the final print editions. That's so rock and roll...

3. Burning Love - Garth Brooks, off of Ropin' the Wind
There was a time in college where one of my favorite things to do at night was pour a Thirstbuster sized Rum and Coke, fire up NHL Hitz on the Playstation2, pump up some Garth on the stereo and get absolutely rowdy with Danny while yelling and singing and generally howling at the moon until all hours of the night. Our neighbors must have loved us. But seriously, i think i talked about drunken Garth nights about 3 times this last weekend, recounting those exploits. Good times all around...and i don't even like country music. That's the best part i think.

4. 10,000 Days (Wings Part 2) - Tool, off of 10,000 Days
Maynard's (Tool's lead singer) mom had a stroke and was paralyzed and wheel-chair bound for 27 years before her death. 27 years multiplied by 365 days in a year equals roughly 10,000 days.

The song before this on the album is called Wings for Marie. Marie was Maynard's mom's middle name. In this song he talks about his mom as his savior and how despite all of his anti-religious and anti-God philosophies, that his mother always loved him and despite how angry he would get at her unwavering faith, she always stayed true to her belief in God and Jesus. This song basically says that when his mom gets to the gates of heaven that God himself better be there to welcome her because there are few people more deserving of being there than her.
These lyrics are great:
"10000 days in the fire is long enough. You're going home...

You're the only one who can hold your head up high,
Shake your fist at the gates saying,
"I have come home now!
Fetch me the spirit, the son and the father,
Tell them their pillar of faith has ascended.
It's time now! My time now! Give me my Give me my wings!"...

You are the light, the way, that they will only read about

Set as I am in my ways and my arrogance
Burden of proof tossed upon non-believers.
You were my witness, my eyes, my evidence, Judith Marie, unconditional one."

5. Cute Without the "E" (Cut from the Team) Acoustic - Taking Back Sunday, off of Punk Goes Acoustic
I loved this song back in the day, and this acoustic version is kinda just OK. A little boring, but OK. Kind of an anticlimactic end to what was a really good shuffle.

Alright kids. More soon.

Technical Motha F-Ing Difficulties

2007-03-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

My computer, after 2.5 years of faithful service, is apparently going to the big laptop case in the sky. I'm doing everything i can to save it, but it may have to be put out of its misery, Old Yeller style.

I'll be back and posting as soon as i possibly can.

Adam

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-03-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry about last week. I was in Vegas all week and had more internet connection on my phone than through my computer and as much as i love the shuffle, i wasn't hammering that thing out on my phone.

So, after a small break, here we go:
1. Military Madness - ~~Stephen Stills~~ Graham Nash, off of Crosby, Stills and Nash Box Set
After seeing the list of protest songs discussed by Kevo and Nole not too long ago, i mentally made my own list. Since they did such a good job, i really didn't feel the need to include my own. (although this is what a quick, off-the-top-of-my-head list have looked like:
1. Public Enemy - Fight the Power
2. Crosby, Stills and Nash - Ohio
3. Bruce Springsteen - Maggie's Farm
4. Fortunate Son - Credence Clearwater Revival
5. Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name)
But this is a great song by Stephen Stills and it feels pretty autobiographical. He sings about military madness killing his country, his dad fighting in the war, moving to Europe to escape it, etc. C, S, N and Y (as in Young, Neil) sang often of the issues of their times including racial issues and war. They were highly controversial at the time but obviously accepted by those in the antiwar movement and now regarded as one of the best bands of their time. (Dixie Chicks anyone?)
The more things change, the more they really stay the same i guess.

2. Who Rocks the House - Jurassic 5
Courtney recently suggested that after getting into De La Soul that she had less respect for what J5 has done over the last 10 years. I wonder if anyone feels this way? I won't take away from what J5 has done because they have never claimed to be this completely original sound and they've always done a great job of paying homage to their influences and predecessors in their songs. Anyone want to take a stab at this?

3. Get By - Talib Kweli, off of Quality
This may be my favorite Kweli song of all time. Just a popping beat, sweet vocals and really moving and inspiring lyrics. My favorite: "We go through episodes too, like Attack of the Clones"
My favorite memory of this song was when it came on in Chris Perry's garage one night in college while we were all playing beer pong. We're dancing, singing, yelling back and forth at each other about the game and, of course, drinking heavily and CP realized that the theme of this song is to "get by" a day without smoking, drinking, using some substance or behavior to artificially alter your reality, etc. Behold the hypocrisy of the suburban white youth right? Oh well.

4. Don't Tell and We Won't Ask - Thrice, off of Artist in The Ambulance
My favorite completely random line of this song: "If you're a smart kid, never work without your gloves. If you're a smart kid, you'll stay the hell away from love." I can just see them on the tour bus writing this...
Dustin: Ok, what rhymes with love....above? shove? Come on guys, help me. How about glove? Can we make that work? Will anyone notice? Do smart kids really work with gloves? Help me damnit!

Still, this was like a defining song of my Sophomore/Junior years of college. And this CD was just so good. And the liner notes were as cool as any CD this side of Tool. So that was good too.

5. Swollen Summer - The Bravery
This song came on my iPod the other day and i consciously remember wondering what i would write if it ever came on the shuffle...
I picked this CD up from the wonderful Suzanne, who let me raid her laptop at Virgo to the tune of about 650 songs. I had heard The Bravery on a video game and i got somewhat annoyed with it over the course of 15,000 listens but it still was one of the better tunes on the game. The CD is equally as poppy and sugary as the song from the video game but it is catchy and does have a decent ring to it. I'm not sure i could ever listen to the whole thing straight through but it's one of those songs that comes on during a shuffle session and i find myself nodding my head and saying, "Man, I should really listen to this whole CD sometime." And i never do. That speaks volumes about their sound and how much i'd like it, i feel.

Alright, back to work. I don't know if anyone uses Microsoft Outlook but it pops up these little task reminders for me and there are like 52 popping up right now. Yikes.

No, I'm not Dead

2007-03-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

Although sometimes, when i get home from 4 days in Vegas, i wish i was.

Sorry about missing the shuffle without any warning. It'll be back Monday.

Proof That Emo is Dangerous! Gasp!

2007-02-27T08:07:00.001-08:00

I wish my lawn was Emo so it would cut itself.

The Monday Morning Shuffle: The Brevity Edition

2007-02-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

Alright, i've gotta keep this short. There's a ton of crap going on right now. I hope i don't get carried away.

Also, for those of you just tuning in, i don't pick these songs. I open iTunes, hit shuffle and then click play and i write about the first 5 songs that come on. Some times the songs are awful, or it's a skit or a repeat and i'll skip them but 99% of the time, these are the first 5 songs that i hear on a Monday morning. There seemed to be some confusion about that and i just wanted to clear things up.

1. Ah Me - Griffin House, off of Lost and Found
I think i talked about Griffin House way way back when i first started this blog but i'm just now getting into him. It's all part of that guy and a guitar folky music phase i'm in right now. This CD is awesome and really soothing to listen to. I highly recommend it. And if you need it, just ask. Also, if anyone watches Grey's Anatomy and knows what the name of the song that was playing at the end of last week's episode is, would you please tell me because it's awesome. I've rewatched the end of the show on my DVR 3 times just to hear it. Pretty sure it's Damien Rice but if anyone can confirm that, i'd appreciate it.

2. Your Boyfriend Sucks - The Ataris
You know who else sucks besides your boyfriend? The Ataris.

3. Total Eclipse of the Heart - The Dan Band, off of the Old School Soundtrack
So this was definitely one of the funniest scenes in Old School and i really hoped that the band from the movie was a real band and not just actor's playing in some Hollywood construction. And my wish came true. They're a real band and they cover songs that had female vocalists...pretty hilarious really. I also have a version of them doing Lady by Styx, which isn't a girl lead singer but still awesome.

4. Streets of Laredo - Johnny Cash, off of American IV: The Man Comes Around
I've mentioned Robert Earl Keen in this space a few times and he has a reference to this song in his latest CD that i didn't put together until just now. Weird.
Anyway, this is a great song on a great CD. I recently picked up American III and American V, so my Cash collection is starting to get very respectable. I'm looking forward to the Top 5 Cash songs post. Want to do it first Nole?

(Let the record show that Ben Folds - Rockin the Suburbs came on next and i skipped it because it was on the shuffle last week. The odds of that happening are 1 in 4,652.)

5. Trouble - Alicia Keys, off of Songs in A Minor
Are all of the songs on this CD in A Minor? Any music theory students out there that want to tackle this question? (These are the thoughts that kept me out of the really good schools.)
I haven't had a chance to listen to this entire CD yet but to say that it's critically acclaimed would be an understatement.
This would also be a good time to mention that girls who can sing and play the piano are so unbelievably sexy. I once really thought i had a chance with Alicia Keys. I definitely thought we'd get married. Hey, we still might, who knows? She was so good looking in that video she did with Mos Def. And it helped that Mos is absolutely the man. I want to be his friend too. I think he'd be cool to kick it with. (Mos, if you're reading this, call me? And can you give my number to Alicia too? Thanks man, you're the best!)

Sorry for being brief. I got's me too much shit to do. I'll be better next time.

Monday (ok, Tuesday) Morning Shuffle: La Guardia Shared Music Edition

2007-02-20T00:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, here’s the deal. I’m sitting in La Guardia Airport in NYC after a terrific four days in the cold and exhausting, yet absolutely amazing and exhilarating city of New York. Most of my time was spent with my friend Courtney who, with her girlfriend Sonia, has one of the biggest CD collections I’ve ever seen. I spent a considerable portion of time (and disk space) loading music on my computer that I needed or otherwise didn’t have. I could have really done some damage if I had more time but all in all I loaded over 500 new songs and I’m pretty stoked on it.
Also, I’m sitting at the gate and there are a few other people on their laptops with iTunes open and broadcasting. If you aren’t familiar with this process, you can broadcast your iTunes so that other people with wireless connections can see and listen to your library. They can’t take it from your computer, although I’m sure there’s a way, and I might have to look into that.

So in order to mix things up a bit, I’m borrowing the Monday Morning Shuffle (it is Monday afternoon but I won’t have internet until 1 am Phoenix time, or in about 12 hours, and by then it will be Tuesday)….anyway, I’m borrowing the shuffle from the library of John Hein. I’ve looked through his music and given him a back story and decided that it will make for an interesting shuffle. So here we go.

1. Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind – Yo La Tengo, off of I’m Not Afraid of You, And I Will Kick Your Ass
I don’t have this CD and I’ve never heard this song before, but that’s what is going to make this fun. This song checks in at over 10 minute so I hope our boy John doesn’t get up and go anywhere or turn his computer off. (I wonder if he’s listening to my music too? Weird.) So anyway this song starts off with a super catchy little riff and a nice little guitar section in the beginning and I’m really liking it. I finally fixed my Bose headphones (thanks duct tape!) and everything just sounds so amazing through these. I know they’re expensive but if you like music and you travel or use headphones a lot I highly suggest these. If you turn in some miles you can easily redeem them. They are so choice.
Aww…damn. No sooner did I say I hope John doesn’t turn his computer off then he disappears. Oh well. We’ll start over using my library.

1. The Best Deceptions – Dashboard Confessional
Remember a few weeks ago when I was talking about John Mayer (here) and I said how I was a fan when it was just him and his guitar? Well it’s pretty much the same with Chris Carraba and Dashboard. I just liked them better when it was just him. Throw in the full band and backup singers and it just loses some of its pain and bite and significance.
I liked this song when I was a freshman in college and angry but now…eh.

2. Clean – Incubus, off of Make Yourself
Wow, this must be the freshman in college mix or something. Anyway, I really developed a love for Incubus over my freshman year of college driving back and forth from Boulder to Breckenridge every weekend. I thought Brandon Boyd’s lyrics were terrific (i.e. I need a map of your head/translated into English/so I can learn to not make you frown/I’d feel better if you’d vent/put your frustrations into 4-letter words/and let them all out on mine, the most weathered ears in town.) and I thought the combination of a DJ spinning and rock guitars were really interesting and novel. Then rap-rock came to power and completely blew the originality of that whole sound and Incubus jumped the shark. And that’s all she wrote for me.

3. Castles Made of Sand – Jimi Hendrix, off of The Ultimate Experience
Back in 7th grade when I developed my fascination for classic rock, Jimi was one of my first loves, and how can you not? I mean seriously, what could I possibly say about Hendrix that hasn’t been said. Nothing.
But that won’t stop me from saying that what I remember most about this song is listening to it on the patio of this restaurant in Northern Arizona. We were up near the Grand Canyon doing some fishing below the damn. I was really young and I was hanging out with my uncles and dad who at the time were all infinitely cooler than me and I just thought it was awesome that I got to hang out and listen to Jimi Hendrix with people who could have legitimately seen him in concert.
Well there’s not a ton to do at night in that part of the country so they sat around and drank beers (I had a soda) and we bet on how many cars would pass during a span of time. Someone would call out something like 7 cars over the next 15 minutes, everyone would synchronize watches, throw a few bucks on the under or the over and we’d sit and count. The best fun is the kind you make yourself.

4. The Boy Who Destroyed the World – A.F.I., off of All Hallows E.P.
Random that this song came on because Ron, Nole and I were just talking about it the other day at breakfast in Vegas. I’m not sure how it came up, I think Nole was talking about music he was getting back into and mentioned this EP. Then I mentioned that playing Tony Hawk my sophomore year of college completely ruined this song for me because it just got played over and over. That lead to a discussion of the other music that was on the Tony Hawk 3 soundtrack and a general discussion of great video game music altogether. Then we went and found an awesome $5 single-deck table and won a bunch of money and went to the trade show late. An enjoyable morning all around. Later that night, some of us met Karim Campbell, the pro skater, outside of a strip club near the Hard Rock (we had walked over there to catch a cab instead of waiting in line at the Hard Rock. Promise.) Karim had his own character on the game, and that’s about as intertwined as a day can get.

5. The Watcher – Dr. Dre, off of Chronic 2001
Man I LOVED this CD my senior year of high school. Danny and I used to blast this when we had to pick our little brothers up from marching band practice. I think we just liked the shock value and boy did we have it. As the band kids were coming into the parking lot we were soon surrounded by Ron, Nole, Jack, etc who proceeded to jump on the running boards of my suburban and rock the shit out of it with Danny and me inside. We were ghost riding the whip way before it was cool (wait, is it even cool now???). Anyway, this album reinvented and revitalized Dre, led to the rise and fall of Eminem and will eventually lead either The Game or 50 Cent being killed in a rap feud. Good times!
And in other news, after the Mos Def concert the other night we were feeling really inspired and traveled back into Manhattan to go to a great Jazz club called Garage. We had been there that morning for jazz brunch, which was extremely cool. Mimosas, Bloody Marys, good food and great music. Well anyway, we went back that night to see the Jonathon Batiste Trio (there were 5 of them, go figure). Batiste is a 19-year-old Julliard student from New Orleans who is maybe the best pianist I’ve ever seen. I mean, words can describe it. I love jazz, but I’m not the most skilled listener of it. I really don’t know what to pay attention to and I usually use it more for background music that anything. So I’m sitting there talking to my friends, having some wine and casually listening when I just feel the vibrations in my feet, and then notice as they move up my legs, twist up my spine and shut my mouth. After about 30 minutes, the entire table was silent as we listened to Batiste absolutely rock the piano and his group just slide through solo after solo. He has some albums out and I think I heard that he will be coming out with some more very soon. Keep an eye out for his stuff, and also, support your local jazz club and musicians. Look around your city; there’s gotta be at least one.

Oh yeah, and this dude just sound next to me listening to a tape on a WalkMan….old school brother, old school.

College Dropout Vs. Late Registration

2007-02-18T09:09:00.000-08:00

But first, i had the opportunity last night to attend the Mos Def concert in Brooklyn. When i heard he'd be playing in his home town and i would be nearby i knew i had to go, but i really had no idea what to expect. My friend Mark used a few connections and a few well-placed bribes to get us in and as we made it to our seats, we realized we'd be in the 8th row. A piano player comes on stage and starts playing, then a DJ, then a bassist and guitarist. Three Saxophones come in stage left and a tuba, a souzaphone, and 2 trombones come in stage right. Then a drummer, then three horns and then Mos himself. So to recap, i saw Mos Def in his hometown of Brooklyn at a 500 capacity opera house in the 8th row in front of a 17-piece live band. It would suffice to say that this was one of the best concert experiences of my life. More on that later.

******

Alright, a few weeks back I posted some less than kind words about George Bush’s favorite rapper, Kanye West. Ron took this opportunity to A. ask why I didn’t like Kanye’s second CD as much, and B. to unveil his theory on hiphop which claims that almost every hiphop album is 1/3 good, 1/3 guilty pleasure and 1/3 bad. It would seem that Kanye’s albums fit this philosophy to a T so while on a flight to New York (my plane smells like Cat pee…seriously, don’t fly ATA) I took the opportunity to listen to both of them straight through and make some notes and see if I couldn’t explain why I liked the first CD so much and why I hate the second one. Here goes:

The College Dropout album has a few things that make it great. First, it was a novelty. It was a happy sounding, feel good, non-thug sounding album. I say non-thug because there was no rap feud, no fabricated story about the artist having been shot 9 times, there wasn’t a ton of buzz about it, it came out of nowhere, it was kind of an underdog story. This was especially prevalent when the first single released was Through the Wire. I first caught on to this song because the video told the story of Kanye’s car accident and he actually laid the vocal track down with his jaw wired shut, which you know, is just a little bit impressive.
But the more important thing was that you had an artist wearing LaCoste shirts and sweater vests, rapping about jesus and making fun of the normal rap video, which – and I’ll go ahead and get this out of the way right now – appealed to white people. Now I’m not saying this is the only reason that the CD is good but am I going to identify more with a rapper who at least tried to go to college and dresses a little preppy or Akon? Maybe you don’t want to admit it but I think you know the answer.
OK and now that we have the race issue dealt with we can just talk about the music. The beats on this CD are epic. Spaceship, Get Em High, The New Workout Plan and Breathe In Breath Out are hot. There’s just no other way to explain it. No matter what he’s saying in the lyrics, the beats pop and gets you to nod your head and as Saul Williams says, if you’re nodding your head back and forth that’s the universal sign for “Yes, I agree with this.” And nothing gets the head nodding more than Jesus Walks. I mean, put your head phones on, put this song on and tell me that you’re not walking in stride to this beat and nodding your head to it. I used to pump this song walking from class to class at ASU and it just felt good. There’s something to be said for that. That beat is just epic and that song, no matter your religious affiliations, just feels like something higher.
Also, the College Dropout theme is mentioned in almost every track…I mean, this is as close to a rap theme album as I think we’ve ever had. It pervades the entire album and gives it this kind of cohesiveness that most albums (even rock) don’t have.
In addition to Kanye’s rhymes, which are really, really, really good, he throws in cameos from Jay-Z, Common, Jamie Foxx and Talib Kweli, who, if you don’t know, are some of the hardest hitters in hiphop today.
There was just a passion and cohesion to College Dropout. The whole thing fit and it made sense and it was completely catchy from song to song. And there were some stupid skits but they at least made sense in the theme of the album. (What these skits did to affect the higher education aspirations of thousands of African American students remains to be seen and won’t be discussed here, but it deserves mentioning.)
One of the last tracks, Family Business, almost feels like an extra effort on the CD but it does a decent job of ending on a high and optimistic tone after an album that despite being fun and poppy, actually dealt with some pretty heavy issues. And then Last Call is a little cherry on top with Jay-Z laughing in the studio and my favorite rhyme of the entire frickin album, “I went to the malls and I balled too hard, They said, 'oh my god is that a black card?'/ I turned around and replied why yes/but I prefer the term African American Express. "
Top notch.

Moving on to Late Registration. I have to admit that I was seriously looking forward to this CD and I had such huge expectations for it that maybe there was no way it could satisfy me. But when you hear that first few minutes with another Bernie Mack intro and the super-sick echo of the “Mr. West!” part and it breaks into that beat, well I just thought that maybe lightning had struck twice. But for some reason the first song drags…the beat is really hopping and then the piano comes in and it just slows the whole thing down. I felt like this CD just had to come out rocking track one, side one, and it didn’t. Even Kanye’s lyrics seem to lack enthusiasm on this song. But still, I was willing to keep listening.
So then you hit next and Touch the Sky just flies out of the box and rolls along and it’s almost like this song should have been the first track on the album. He gets Lupe Fiasco (who is awesome) into the mix and everything should be kicking ass. Well it doesn’t. It’s a self-congratulatory, self-absorbed, egotistical, product-placement driven club track. That’s it. And then pulling out the Evil Kneivel reference with Pamela Anderson (and I can’t believe I’m saying this but Pam was the token white girl in the rap video here…Maybe I’m reading too much into it but the video seemed to be saying, I’m the hottest black musician in the world and I’ve got all of your white girls loving me too…I don’t know. Seemed weird at the time.)
So then we move on to Gold Digger which is a great track. Great beat, great hook, tongue-in-cheek subject matter, Jaime Foxx, all the crucial ingredients to another good Kanye track. And I really did like this song but bottom line is that it’s a club track, plain and simple. If this song had some good tracks around it then it would have lasted a lot longer, but it’s carrying the whole album at this point. (Total Guilty pleasure)
One of the worst parts about Late Registration are the skits…they’re absolutely awful and appalling and appealing to the very lowest common denominator. They bug me. Let’s move on.
Let’s see if Ron’s theory holds up here:
Good Songs: Drive Slow (I’m being generous), Touch the Sky, Bring Me Down
Bad Songs: Crack Music, Heard Em Say, All of the skits, My Way Home (sorry Common), Roses, Addiction, We Major, Hey Mama, Celebration, Gone, We Can Make it Better
Guilty Pleasure: Gold Digger, Diamonds From Sierra Leone

So by my count, that’s 3 good songs and 2 guilty pleasure songs out of 21 …sure doesn’t add up to even thirds in my book, but I’m being hyper-critical and I do see where Ron was coming from on this philosophy. I’m interested to take a look at some other albums that I like and see how it applies.
In the end, Late Registration just lacked continuity, took itself too seriously and tried to do too much for my taste. Some of the beats start out great and the some other sound or track gets added in and it messes it up. And it’s not that the subject matter was any lighter in the first CD, because it wasn’t. And I applaud Kanye for tackling topics like the diamond trade (although making a song like this and then having a huge blinged out chain around your neck is more than a little suspect) and Kanye’s sarcasm and facetiousness about topics like gold digging and video ho’s make him endearing. But this CD was just slow and boring for me. Maybe it was out of order a bit but you can’t blame anyone but K. West for that either.
Sophomore albums are tough, especially when your first album was as good as it was. Hopefully Kanye will bounce back in a big way on his 3rd (I’m not holding my breath…I think the success has gone to his head and he may be lost for good.)

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-02-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

First off, the Grammy's sucked as usual. My dad was pissed that the Dixie Chicks won so much because they're commie pinko leftists but really they just had a great CD and a terrific producer and really did deserve to win a bunch. Also, i suggested that if my dad didn't enjoy protest music that he should take every album he has from every Vietnam era band he liked and just go ahead and burn them. Moving on.

Secondly, i really enjoyed the conversation about the Top 5 British Bands of all time. And yes, i missed a big one with Queen. They deserved to be up there in both lists. A great band, very influential and one of my favorites. It was a blinding error and i'm embarrassed for making it. Most of the time, these postings are just crap off the top of my head, but i actually went and did some research on the British Top 5 post and i really thought i had considered everyone who deserved the influential spots. For instance, I had initially written The Clash in at #5 before realizing that The Sex Pistols totally paved the way for The Clash...it would be like saying that Green Day was in my American Punk Top 5 but the Ramones weren't...So yeah, somehow Queen slipped through the cracks but thanks to Nole for bringing it to every one's attention.

Also, my lack of knowledge, experience and appreciation for Radiohead has been very well documented on this blog so i can't really believe that anyone was surprised i left them out. I'd have been a total poser for putting them in at all. It's a problem, i admit it, and i'm working on it, i promise. In the meantime, i would really like someone (Laura, Kate, Courtney i'm looking at you) to do some research and put some thought into just who and what Radiohead has influenced. The other bands we all named paved the way for other bands that followed with a swath as wide as a thousand bulldozers and i'm interested to see what bands or what sounds specifically can be traced back to Radiohead and also why they stop there and can't be traced THROUGH Radiohead to someone else. You have your mission, go forth, wreak havoc.

On with the shuffle:
1. Tunnel of Love - Dire Straits
I like it when the shuffle throws me an 8 minute song right off the bat so i can actually listen to it and type at the same time. It seems like i always get some crazy 2:15 song and i have to pause to finish my commentary about it and it just messes with the flow of the entire shuffle.
Anyway, Dire Straits kicks ass...and now that i think about it, i think they may be in my Brit Band top 5 after all... i originally had them at 6 -8 but now that i'm listening to this song, i might like their body of work overall more than i like The Who, or The Beatles. I'm not saying they were a better or bigger band, i'm just saying that on a song by song basis, i think i'd rather listen to "Money for Nothing" than "Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy" or "Sgt. Peppers"...i don't know, maybe, that's a pretty bold statement and one that may not be true by this afternoon. We'll see.
Anyway, this song has this rolling feel to it that would make it a good running or driving song. It just keeps flowing over its 8 minutes interspersed with little solos and guitar licks and Mark Knopfler's incredibly cool sounding vocals that sound like he's breathing out a puff of smoke every time he opens his mouth. Talented band, and an underrated one at that. If the depth of your Dire Straits knowledge is Money For Nothing or hearing Romeo and Juliet on the soundtrack of "Can't Hardly Wait" give me a call and i'll get you hooked up.

2. Chicago is So Two Years Ago (acoustic) - Fall Out Boy
I'm not sure where i downloaded this from but the quality is awful. You can barely hear Patrick Stump's vocals over the little scenster kids clapping and singing awfully off key while imagining how the lyrics perfectly apply to their own little broken-heart high school romances. In fact, this is horrible, i'm clicking next.

3. Red Rabbits - The Shins, off of Wincing the Night Away
I'm flying to NYC on Thursday and this CD is at the top of my play list for the 6 hour flight. I'm very excited. In fact, let's do a quick top 5:
Top 5 new (to me) albums i'm most excited about listening to on the way to and from NYC
1. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
2. The Killers - Sam's Town (surprisingly good)
3. Norah Jones - Not Too Late
4. The Beta Band - 3 E.P.s
5. Johnny Cash - American V

Yeah, and just listening to this song for the first time, i can tell i'm going to enjoy it. I hope the rest of the CD is like this. The new Shins strikes me like the perfect album to chill out to on a plane while reading a large chunk of Audacity of Hope (sorry i'm so far behind guys). These guys should call Natalie Portman every damn day and thank her.

4. The Man in Me - Bob Dylan, off of The Big Lebowski Soundtrack
Hilarious song, hilarious movie. They did such a good job on the music in that movie that i can't listen to a single song on the soundtrack without automatically picturing exactly what's happening in the movie. And isn't that what a soundtrack is supposed to be about? Just total symbiosis between the two mediums? That's what i thought.
Anyway, what more can i say about Dylan or the movie? Not a lot i feel. But i will mention this joke from Bill Maher: "Bob Dylan is the voice of our generation and he can't argue with that. We didn't really have a choice in the matter. If we had a choice wouldn't you think we'd pick a better voice than his?"

5. Rockin' The Suburbs - Ben Folds, off of Rockin' the Suburbs
It makes sense that i'm going to see Courtney in NYC this weekend and she's the one who introduced me to Ben Folds and to this song. Courtney and I took a class our freshman year in Colorado called U.S. Race And Ethnic Relations...which we both affectionately remember as Race Relations Boot Camp. What an awful semester. Although Courtney and I will both admit that we learned more about race and privilege and our own thoughts and prejudices than at any other time in our lives, it was just an amazing way to be absolutely torn down at your core and be told that everything you've known about your race and your upbringing and your opportunities were just complete false or worse, that you've only had the opportunities you had been given at the expense of someone else. So this song really hit me at the perfect time in life... "Y'all don't know what it's like/being male, middle class and white./Y'all don't know what it's like/being male, middle class and white. It gets me real pissed off and i wanna scream/It gets me real pissed off and i wanna scream, It gets me real pissed off and i wanna scream, 'FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
UUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Yup...that's pretty much exactly what it felt like at the time. Isn't it amazing how music can do that?

Alright, big week this week. Vegas tomorrow with Ron and Nole, then NYC to see Courtney and others. I can't make any promises about more posts this week but i've got a lot of ideas and i'm hoping that i can find a really cool coffee shop to sit in with my laptop and iPod and just be so stereotypical that it hurts. So don't be surprised if you see 3-4 more things this week.

Brit Band Top 5

2007-02-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

My good friends Kevin and Neil have been meeting for some quality "guy time" every week and talking about music and life and probably a ton more. I haven't been able to meet up with them yet (stupid work) but Kevin has filled me in on a couple of their topics. Here's Kevin's list of Top 5 British bands:

Kevo: "I don't know if you have done this one before but you missed this top five at applebees. Top five british bands.

1.Beatles
2.Radiohead
3. Led Zeplin
4. Coldplay
5.Oasis

Any arguments?"

And to Kevin, i say, "Yes i have arguments. Isn't that what this whole blog thing is about?"

So here we go. First, if you're going to say "Top 5" anything, i've always felt that you need to qualify your criteria a little bit. And usually that criteria can be broken down into two main sections.
1. Are they in the Top 5 because you like them?
Or 2, are they in your Top 5 because they're influential and had an effect on the rest of the musical universe?
These things matter.

So here are my Top 5 British bands, first by larger influence and second by how much i like them.

Top 5 British bands who made an undeniable influence on musical history (With Apologies to Radiohead, Eric Clapton/The Yardbirds, The Who, Jethro Tull):

1. Beatles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. The Cure
4. Pink Floyd
5. The Sex Pistols

And here's The Top 5 based on the British bands i like:
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Eric Clapton
3. Jethro Tull
4. The Who
5. The Beatles

So yeah, in both of my Top 5's, Coldplay, Radiohead and Oasis don't even sniff #5. They'd probably be in the top 10, but that's not what this site is about now is it?

Alright, now it's your turn for arguments. I expect to hear something back this time.

Monday Morning Shuffle: The Long Band Name edition

2007-02-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

There's a lot to take care of this morning before we actually get to the shuffle.

First thing, after my Kanye Sucks post last week, i found this video today with Common's new single featuring, of course, Kanye:

I really like it when these two work together (The Food off of Common's Be album was the shit.) and this song is really no different. I definitely feel it and i can't wait for Common's new CD, even if Kanye is going to manhandle and take over every song he's on. Common balances him out pretty well i'd say. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Also, i found a record store in Flagstaff this weekend that was going out of business and had a bunch of music on sale for 20%-25% off and of course i went nuts. I always feel justified in buying a ton of music at once because usually i'm just stealing it and i feel like i'm all square with the recording industry by buying 5 CDs a year. So here's what i picked up and i'm really excited to load them all onto the iPod and dive in.
The Beta Band - The Three E.P.S (and if you don't recognize the significance of me buying this CD in a local indie record store and talking about it on this blog then you need to go rent High Fidelity right now and watch it until you get it.)
Johnny Cash - Super Hits (This isn't an official Cash album, just one of those random compilations. It had some good songs on it and some that i haven't heard before so i picked it up.)
Johnny Cash - American V (Nole recommended this CD a long time ago and since i stole American IV i thought it was the least i could do for Johnny's estate.)
Death Cab for Cutie - We Have The Facts and We're Voting Yes (I'm a big fan of Plans, but my overall Death Cab knowledge and context is lacking, so i picked it up.)
Thrice - Vheissu (I know, i'm really late on this one but the Dustin Kensrue solo CD has me digging back into Thrice a bit. I already listened to it on the way home from Flag, and i like it so far.) And here is Dustin's performance on Letterman the other night, just for fun:

Talib Kweli - Quality (On VINYL bitches. Yeah, beat that. I already have this CD but the chance to have it on wax for 25% off was just too good to pass up. And yes, having this album makes me cooler than you. Now all i need is a record player and i'll be good to go.)
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Yes, i missed this by about 7 years but so what? I've recently gotten back into the Fugees -- and all of their spin offs -- and knew that i really needed to give this CD a lot of attention. Why hasn't she done anything else recently? Come on Lauryn, come back, we need you.)

Let me know if you want me to send you any of these albums for your own collection. I'm hoping to start posting a weekly wish list for music and hopefully we can all start sharing and not buying as much (To kick the wish list off, i heard the new Andrew Bird album leaked last week. Someone get their hands on it and send it to me eh?)

Also, the new Fall Out Boy is streaming on Myspace, if anyone is interested.

On with the shuffle:
1. Plush (acoustic) - Stone Temple Pilots
Between stints in rehab and time spent with former members of G&R, Scott Weiland made some damn good music. This is one of my favorite songs of the grunge 90s, right next to Pearl Jam - Jeremy. It has a really catchy chorus and i just help but sing along. The acoustic version here is really nice. Just one guitar and Scott, whose voice sounds better here than it did on the actual album version.

2. Suzie Q - Credence Clearwater Revival
Ahhhhh the Credence. They just remind me of Big Lebowski no matter what and there's nothing wrong with that. This song has a kind of Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog feel to it for me. It's like, i like it once i'm listening to it, but if i don't get passed the first couple seconds then i'm just never going to listen to it. It has a cool sound to it, and it's a fun song when in the presence of people named Suzie, but that's about it. Upon closer inspection, i really do like the beat and the guitar in this song. I'm actually surprised that no rapper has sampled the drums yet. It would be a pretty mellow track. This is why i need to become a DJ.

3. Mess - Ben Folds Five, off of The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
This was my first Ben Folds song. My good friend Courtney gave me this CD freshman year of college because she said it reminded her of me. Which is interesting seeing as though this is easily Ben Folds' most depressed CD. I guess i was a little more sad and Emo at that point of life, which is too bad, but hey, i'm still here and it seems that i made it through OK.
This song really did catch my ear because at the time, i was a complete Mess. It fit, and the sound and feel of the song is one of those that just affects your heart when you hear it. I think my most poignant memory of this song is being really damn drunk on a vacation back in Phoenix and Erika had to drive me home in my own car (how she got home, i can't remember) and i just remember being effected by this song and yeah. Deep semi-painful memories there. Let's just move on.

4. On My Own - Black Eyed Peas, off of Bridging the Gaps
Imagine a time before London Bridges, before My Humps, before that cracked out little whore Fergie forsook her Kids Incorporated upbringing and began teaching completely inappropriate lyrics to every kid in America between 8 and 17. Can you picture that time? Yes it existed, and once upon that time a hip-hop group called the Black-Eyed Peas made an album so socially conscious and thought-provoking that their label wouldn't even release it. My God, how they've fallen.
Bridging the Gaps is a bad-ass album from a group that used to tour with Ozomatli and J5. This song includes vocals from Les Nubians and Mos Def. Do you think Mos would be caught dead on a Black-eyed Peas album now? Let's hope not.
It really makes me sad what's become of this band. They used to be awesome, now, well...we know what they are now.

5. Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers, off of Stadium Arcadium
This song reminds me so much of Californication that it's almost disheartening. It's almost as if they have a formula for writing title tracks or something. It starts with some mournful, yet catchy, guitar riff, in comes the drums, then Keidis' voice with some profound and obscure lyric. They really are quite similar and i just noticed that today for the first time.
Well i won't let one little realization ruin this song for me. It's no secret that i really like this album and the title track here really does fit the whole ebb and flow of the entire 2-disk set. Another thing i really find myself enjoying about this song is the harmonies in the chorus. Flea's voice actually adds a ton of texture to this song (and on Make You Feel Better, another good song on the album) and it really sounds like the whole band is singing and believing in what the song and the band is about. I like it. A lot. Now, a little variety would be good for next time.

More this week. Promise this time. I've been saving up some good topics for a while. Keep an eye out.

(I didn't realize this until now but 4 of 5 bands in the shuffle today have 3-word names, and the 5th band has a 4-word name. Weird. We know not the insanity of the shuffle button.)

Kanye West Sucks

2007-01-31T11:37:00.000-08:00

I loved his first CD, i despised his second. I love his "George Bush hates Black people" freak out, i hate this video.

Pop-up video happened when? 8 years ago? 10? Jeebus, this is a tired gig. Just proves that nobody has any new ideas anymore.

Thanks for playing Kanye, you can now go back to obscurity.

Monday Morning Shuffle: HHS Edition

2007-01-29T14:03:00.000-08:00

I can stop making excuses why i'm not posting this before noon, right? Will anyone hold it against me? I didn't think so.

1. 6 to 8 - AFI, off of The Art of Drowning
I once saw an AFI concert in a hockey rink in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They melted the ice, set up a stage and played. It was cool because it was the first time i'd ever been in a moshpit that had boards around it...you know, as in you could check someone into the boards while moshing. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty great. Also, Nicole Lombardi got kicked in the head and had a concussion during the show (eventually this head inury caused her to dump Mike Lisi and date me for a while, but that's neither here nor there. ha ha ha.) and i got to go on stage after the concert because i won the slopestyle competition earlier that day. Shaun White, eat your heart out.
This song has an great chorus:
What new friends will the day bring? One for one thousand acquainted.
What new home will the night bring? When it all comes down you just throw the bones.

Bones meaning dice because when you're Davey Havoc, it's all a gamble, even your choice of eyeliner, or your choice to leave a proven punk label (Nitro) for a mainstream label, completely selling-out your bandmates, your fans and yourself.

2. Solid Gold Telephone - Head Automatica, off of Decadence
Man, i loved this album. What happened to these guys? Kinda makes a guy sad.
I think my favorite song is "I Shot William H. Macy" because William H. Macy is great. Moving on.

3. Misty Mountain Hop - Led Zeppelin, off of Led Zeppelin IV
First, how cool is it that Led Zep didn't really name all their CDs but just called them 1-4. I think that is the balls.
This song is also another one of Zep's references to Lord of the Rings, because Bilbo went on his adventure in The Hobbit to the Misty Mountains and i'm a nerd.
This definitely isn't one of my favorite Led Zep songs (as you can see in my Top 5), there's just something about the keyboard and guitar harmony and way the vocals are spaced out that bugs me...and you won't hear me say that about many Led Zeppelin songs.

4. Whip It - Devo
Uh yeah. This is one of the best shuffle's in recent memory. Just consistently good tracks, a little old, a little new, a little retro, a lotta hilarious.

And since this song makes no sense at all, other than the sexual connotations of whipping it, whipping it good, i'll just tell a story about Ron, because that's always a good time.
I think it was our junior year, (or was it senior? i'm totally forgetting the details. Bonus points if you remember.) but the homecoming theme at Horizon High School that year was a trip through the decades of the 1900s (it being the year 2000, i guess we all felt nostalgic that it was the last year we could have done that). Well anyway, Monday was the 50s, Tuesday the 60s, etc. which made Thursday 80s day. And being children of the 80s, we all pulled out our leg warmers and side-ponytails and during lunch a band played 80s songs. Well i don't remember who was all in it, but i do remember Ben Sinclair on bass and Ron as the lead singer (which must have been like the 3rd greatest moment in your life right Ron? 1. Getting married. 2. Playing at the Whiskey in Hollywood 3. Being the lead singer of an 80s cover band in high school. Is that about right?) Whoever played drums (Greg Frasetti? Nole? I can't remember but double bonus points if you can tell me in the comments.) had an electronic drum set, which was about the sickest thing to ever enter the hallowed walls of Horizon High School and the whole band just rocked songs all through lunch. I ditched Mr. Bach's 5th hour just to stay out and have fun (must have been senior year then). They played Blue Monday, Billy Idol-White Wedding, and a whole bunch of other great 80s songs (actually, it was definitely junior year because i rocked out next to Crazy Kate the entire time and she was a year older than me.) Good times had by all. Who would have thought i'd be looking back on high school with such fondness? Ha ha.

5. Forever for Tonight - Blessid Union of Souls, off of Home
Wow, three high school references and two Nicole Lombardi references in the same shuffle? What are the odds? And yes, if you have no idea who or what i'm talking about, you can probably just stop reading, but i'll try to explain. This song was our prom theme senior year and Nicole was my date to that prom. This song really reminds me of CP and his never-ending devotion and adoration for BUOS, and for having the balls to theme a high school prom after a deep cut on a CD that only he had and that nobody in our school would know. And, in case you were wondering, he completely pulled it off.
This song also reminds me of Cody Kimmel playing it on his guitar and doing an amazing job of singing it during the prom fashion show a few nights before the dance. At the last minute i had to step in for someone (Tim Brooks) who didn't show up for the event and i ended up on stage standing with someone (Lauren Teets) and standing right behind Kimmel as he sang this. It was one of those Wonder Years/Saved by the Bell/90210 moments where you're just standing there and everything comes together in that moment and you can hear Kevin Cooper's little voice in your head doing the voice over and talking about Winnie. Top notch all the way around.
And just to see how many more names i can drop from high school in the same shuffle, Nicole wanted to dance with me during this song because it really did have some meaning for us at the time and for some reason she was dancing with Keegan Zagami when it came on. She didn't recognize it but i did and had to pull her away from Keegan right in the middle of their dance. Sorry Keegs.
And in related BUOS information, a bunch of us went to the Chandler Ostrich Festival (do they even have this anymore?!?) that year because Blessid was actually going to play there. It may have been their first and only show west of the Mississippi of the last 15-20 years, but damnit we weren't going to miss it. And the lead singer wore a pink mesh shirt and sang "I Believe" twice in the same show. ha ha. I think that might have been the night that CP's Blessid fetish died.

Update #1- Tommy Schmidt played drums.
Update #2 - Nicole was punched in the head (i'm assuming it was an accident), not kicked.
Update #3 - See Ron's comments below for the full band line-up.
Update #4 - It was definitely my junior year, and it would have been in the fall, so i guess the year was actually 1999.

The Coachella Lineup

2007-01-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

Here it is kids:

Tickets go on sale Saturday. I've already talked to CP about going and we're thinking about putting together an RV and getting a bunch of people to fill it out and road trip it down there. Who wants to go with us? Let me know in the comments if you're interested.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-01-22T07:54:00.000-08:00

First off, who wants to go to Coachella with me this year? Now, read this. NOW, who wants to go to Coachella with me? That's what i thought. How excited are you on a scale of 1-10? (1 being Laura, and 10 being Ron)

1. Love You More Than Life - Neutral Milk Hotel
When i mentioned a while back that i didn't really care for certain bands (or more accurately, certain sounds), my friend Courtney suggested quite a few bands for me to listen to. Most of these have the same exact sound that i was complaining about but still, i took Courtney's word for it. Courtney has always liked music like this and has been stone-cold emo before they even invented the term for it. So i downloaded a ton of this stuff and tried to put it all in order and see if anything checked out well. And of all the bands she suggested, i've probably listened to Neutral Milk Hotel the least, so i'm not really comfortable passing judgement on it just yet. This recording sounds like he recorded it in his living room in 1984. It's really unclear and sounds a lot like a demo version, and maybe i downloaded the demo version, there's no way of knowing until someone sends me the actual CD. So i'll reserve total judgement on it but yeah, this is exactly the type of band i normally complain about. Kinda slow, kinda meandering without a real purpose and the recording/guys voice has this grainy, bored, Iron & Wine-like quality about it, which i'm a huge fan of...not.
Let's move on.

2. Here Comes my Girl - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
I've already told a few Tom Petty stories here (both on December 11th, which you'll find here) so i'll spare you another one even though there really isn't a ton to talk about with this song. It's the prototypical Tom Petty song. And if you don't know what that means, check out the 4 minute mark in this clip:

3. Carnival Town - Norah Jones, off of Feels Like Home
So far the shuffle is o for 3 in songs that get me up and ready to go on a Monday Morning. This really doesn't bode well.
Until Norah comes out with her 3rd CD and hopefully redeems herself, I can't really say anything new about her. So this is what i said about her last time: "Her voice is a warm blanket, or hot chocolate, or a fire in the fireplace or a second glass of red wine or a Crown and water. Ok, maybe the last one’s just for me but seriously, you know what I’m saying. Norah is that warm tingly feeling in your belly. And that’s all I have to say about that."

4. Jurass Finish First - Jurassic 5
I just realized that i've been doing the shuffle since September and this is the first time we've had J5 on it since October 16th. Man time really flies. This song is one of my favorite J5 songs. It just has a good beat and that classic Jurassic sound. And i think my favorite part is when the song is over and they have answering machine recordings of one of the guy's parents talking about his career choice. His dad comes on and says that his kid was always stealing his Al Green records and singing and dancing in his room and he's really proud of his son and the guys he's in the band with and that he always knew he'd do something with music. And then his mom comes on and says, "Where are you boy? You out rapping? That's all you do. Rappin, rappin, rappin. You need to go out and get you a job, boy." HAHA. High comedy.

5. Pictures of Me - Eliot Smith, off of Either/Or
Man, the first 4 of 5 songs on this Monday morning have been depressing enough to make me want to stab myself in the chest with a kitchen knife... (too soon?)
This is actually the most upbeat Smith song i've ever heard, and i actually even like it a little bit. Wow, who would have thought?

Alright, i'm towing this rusty thing off to the garage. Sorry about the lack of quality today, but hey, don't blame me, blame iTunes.

In honor of the Dustin Kensrue CD coming out tomorrow (despite the fact that i've been listening to it and loving it for over a month now. Thanks CP!) i think i'm going to write a review of it for Wednesday. So look for more than one post this week for the first time in a while. Hope everyone has a good Monday.

Post-Marathon Monday Morning Shuffle

2007-01-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

Alright, so i haven't mentioned it in a long time but i did, in fact, run (well, some of the time) the PF Changs Rock And Roll half-marathon yesterday. I had a blast and was kicking myself the entire time for not training harder for it. A combination of shin-splints, knee issues and general chaos/laziness prevented me from really getting into a strict training regimen. Fortunately for me i spend 20-30 hours a week walking briskly around a concrete-floored restaurant serving Italian food so i wasn't completely unprepared, actually i felt great the entire time. And a day later, i feel pretty damn good all things considered. I'm definitely doing it again next year and if i can actually commit to training maybe i'll do the full 26.2. We'll see. But i highly recommend the event to all of you. The organizers really do a great job, everyone is out and having fun, and for a guy who really doesn't get caught up in too many moments, i'll admit that i got caught up in all of yesterday's activities. Crossing the starting line at 8am and crossing that finish line at 11am really were two highlights of my 2007 so far. It was a ton of fun. And you don't really even need to run the whole thing to enjoy it. A quick walk can get you around the course in 3 to 3.5 hours and it really is fun for the whole family. Get a group together and do it next year. Seriously.
As far as the music goes, well i have to say i was kind of disappointed. It's not that the bands weren't good, because they were (highlights include the country-bluegrass band at mile 5, the guy who just backed his truck up to the course, plugged into an amp and started ripping off huge guitar solos on mile 2 -- even though i don't think he was one of the official bands --, and to the steel-drum orchestra that literally had no fewer than 30 people on a single stage around mile 10) but on the half-marathon course there was about 1 band per mile and you just cruise right by them in about 4 seconds so there's really no way of telling whether they're good or not, you can't really listen to an entire song and there's really no way of getting charged up to keep running unless they are, by total chance, playing your favorite song right as you happen to walk by. So the Rock and Roll part of it was really minimal.
Also, since i had my dad with me and we walked about 9 of the 13 miles (albeit a brisk walk, somewhere in the range of a 12-14 minute mile), we talked most of the time. So i didn't even listen to my iPod.
I thought music was going to be a huge part of this thing, and it wasn't. I'm not disappointed by any means, it's just not that relevant of a topic to discuss on this blog anymore, especially after i slept through the Gin Blossoms concert last night. Oh well, on with the shuffle.

1. Neon - John Mayer
Kind of an out of character choice for my iTunes, but let me attempt to justify it. I picked up on John Mayer my freshman year of college in 2001. Way before he was linked to Jessica Simpson, way before he had a full band, way before he even had a full length album out. I even went and saw him in concert at the Fillmore in Denver. The ladies didn't even throw their panties on stage. It was just this really talented guitarist with a decent voice singing songs about love and life and doing fun cover songs and making some pretty decent jokes on stage. It was just a nice laid-back show all around. I was, admittedly, a fan. And i was downloading his songs off of Kazaa (or maybe it was even still Napster then, i can't remember) and everything i found was exactly like the concert. Just a guy and his guitar, the way i like it. The guy even had the balls to do his own version of Radiohead-Kid A, which you won't be surprised to hear that i liked a lot, before i even heard the real version on Kid A (don't beat me up Laura, please.) And then for some reason he released a full-length CD of all the songs i had downloaded acoustic, but with drums and bass and electric guitars and keyboards and he just entirely fucked it all up. This song, Neon, was the biggest disappointment of the post-acoustic John Mayer era because it really is a catchy song with a tremendous guitar part that was even more impressive when played on an acoustic, AND he could sing a long while playing this super-hard part. So anyway, i still listen to some of his early acoustic stuff with a touch of sadness at his then-inevitable sellout. If you can find this song acoustic, it's a good one that hasn't gotten old yet.

2. Rock And Roll - Mos Def, off of Black on Both Sides
I was hoping we'd get some Mighty Mos Def on the shuffle today because this was the weekend of Mos for me. Danny came into town Saturday night and hooked me up with Mos' new album, True Magic (which, if the first song is any indication, is going to be REALLY good) and i watched 16 Blocks on HBO last night, which i really liked in theaters and thought Mos did a great job in. So anyway, this was my least favorite Mos CD but this is one of the tracks i liked. It's a really simple track with a really good beat and very few rhymes. Mos is talking about the history of music and calls out some of the most popular artists as being fakers in the history of rock and roll and giving -- how do the kids say it? -- "props" to the people he thinks are real. For example, "Elvis Presley ain't got no soul/ Chuck Berry is rock and roll/ you may dig on the Rolling Stones but they didn't come up with that shit on their own." or my favorite, "Kenny G ain't got no soul/John Coltrane is rock and roll."
And then at the end of the song, following in line with the whole "Rock and Roll" theme of the album, it just goes all metal and there's some hardcore drums and screaming and yeah. They did this a lot on the album and i liked the concept, it just didn't work for me. Too much LinkinPark/JayZ collaboration for me.

3. A Long December - Counting Crows, off of Films About Ghosts
Originally this was one of my all-time favorite Counting Crows songs but it has kind of faded on me. It's not bad, i'm just used to it and the Nah-nah-nah-nah's wear on me now instead of inspiring me to sing a long. I don't know why this happens. I can sing to the nah-nah-nah's on Journey's Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' all day.
That being said, i think the Counting Crows are one of the most underrated bands of my middle/high school years. They really were great and Adam Duritz really sealed the deal by having the hottest girlfriends in the world despite the fact that he was, without a doubt, heinous. If an ugly lead singer banging Courtney Cox doesn't signify the power of music, well i just don't know what does (although i guess now that she's married to David Arquette we can completely say that she has zero taste in men.) Moving on.

4. Ruby Falls - Guster, off of Ganging Up on The Sun
Once again, Guster has put together an album that i can't stop listening to. The other morning at work (i wear my iPod when i'm opening the restaurant because i'm anti-social) i listened to it 2 times in a row. I've talked about them before but they are really underrated in my book. They got railroaded into that college, frat-boy rock genre and perhaps it's their own fault but on every CD i've heard, they consistently put together thought-provoking and profound lyrics and sing them using different styles and harmonies over some pretty innovative melodies and musical ideas. They bring in a lot of different styles, instruments and influences and it really keeps things fresh. My only criticism would be that their CDs, upon first listen, all sound the same, but when you dig a little deeper there are some intricacies that the casual (read: college frat-boy) would definitely miss. And, if nothing else, there has to be something to say about consistency right?
This song in particular starts off in your typical, straight-forward rock fashion but then around minute 4 it breaks down into this psychedelic sounding melody with a muted-trumpet solo over it. It's not some fascinatingly groundbreaking move, but it's different and interesting and innovative and completely pleasant to listen to.

5. Blackbird - Crosby, Stills and Nash
This is a Beatles cover sung by Stephen Stills off of their greatest hits album. CSN was a great band and their tight, high harmonies are absolutely responsible for many of the harmonies you hear today (I'm looking at you AFI). They really were talented musicians and if you've been too busy restricting your classic-rock listening to Led Zeppelin or The Who, i highly suggest you take a crack at CSN. It's kind of amazing how their protest songs about Vietnam ring true today. The song Ohio is about US Soldiers shooting students at Kent State College during a Vietnam protest...could you imagine the shit that would hit the fan if that happened today? And we barely remember it even happened. What a country.

Alright, that's enough for today. Check some of this music out and let me know what you think.

Monday Morning Shuffle "The HSIM Version"

2007-01-08T15:00:00.000-08:00

So sorry for the hiatus. Christmas was on a Monday, New Years Day was on a Monday so i just took those days as vacation and then i went out of town for a week. Not a lot of time to blog or even think about blogging, so when i'm lying on my couch dreading each passing minute as signifying one minute closer to the hell i call "waiting tables" it occurs to me that it's Monday. Holy Shit It's Monday, or, HSIM.

It's good to be back, on with the shuffle:
1. See Emily Play - Pink Floyd, off of The Best of Pink Floyd
This song has a distinct Beatles, early The Who feeling to it, which is different than i'm used to from Floyd. It, of course, still has the requisite psychedelic sound to it. And since i have nothing else to say, i'll recount this story for you.
When we were 20 and drinking on fake IDs, one of our favorite shitty little bars was called the Horse and Hound, on Broadway in Tempe. They had tons of specials, pretty decent food, a lot of video games, TVs, off-track betting and of course a jukebox full of random music. The jukebox had a lot of good classic rock and some decent modern stuff and it also had a ton of the obligatory white trash bullshit that one would associate with a bar such as this. (ie. Kid Rock, Linkin Park, etc.) Well anyway, when the place was packed on a Friday night our good friend Adam Pierce would go to the jukebox and select Echos by Pink Floyd. If you've never heard Echoes then you won't get it but it's basically a 16 minute song full of random noises and, well, echoes. After about the 8 minute mark people would start looking around to see what the hell was going on with the jukebox and trying to identify the person in the bar who thought that would be a good bar song....high comedy. Guess you had to be there.

2. By My Side - Ben Harper, off of Fight For Your Mind
Ben Harper is good. Really good. This song is a little on the unremarkable side so there's not a ton to say other than, if you're not listening to Ben Harper, you're way the fuck behind.

3. You Can't Hurry Love - Phil Collins, off of Hits
Oh dear god. This is awful. Normally i'd skip it and get to something good but i'm in a hurry today and we haven't had anything this bad on the Shuffle in so long, that it almost feels good to talk about something i hate. This is a cover or a song i've never liked and Phil isn't really helping the situation. And usually i like Phil Collins just like i like Peter Gabriel and Genesis. "In The Air Tonight", despite being used as the intro for every Fox nighttime sporting event, is a great song and "Another Day in Paradise" is a great sounding song with tremendously poignant lyrics. Seems weird that he'd include an awful, cheesy cover like this on an album called Hits. Although, i've often felt that when a band does a greatest hits CD, they're pretty much mailing it in anyway.

4. The Light & The Glass (acoustic) - Coheed & Cambria
I don't know where i bootlegged the acoustic version from but it's pretty good. This is one of my favorite Coheed songs and if forced at gunpoint to say whether i liked the acoustic version or the album version better, i'd have to say the album version. For some reason Claudio uses this weird effect on his voice when he does acoustic stuff. It sounds like he's harmonizing with himself but the high harmony is sang through a kazoo. It's weird and it doesn't help. It actually hurts. He does it on a lot of stuff and i don't know why. The guitar parts really stand up acoustically which i'm always happy to be able to say. Guitars have always been a Co& Ca strong point and usually Claudio's vocals compete neck and neck, but not on this recording. Occasionally throughout this song they turn the effect off and it sounds great. Bummer they couldn't just do the whole thing like that. In other news, Coheed did a 5 track acoustic LP that was available on iTunes for a while. They didn't use the vocal effect in those tracks and it's awesome. They do a super slo-mo version of A Favor House Atlantic and a souped up version of The Final Cut which is just some of the best air-guitar material i've ever listened to. Let me know if you want it.

5. Hey Hey - Eric Clapton, off of Unplugged
Everyone knows this CD for the acoustic of Layla and of course the heart-wrenching Tears in Heaven, but this whole thing is extremely kick-ass. And despite the downbeats and minor chords of the aforementioned songs, it actually seems like Clapton had a great time during this recording and was laughing and jamming happily through most of it. Good stuff, and if you don't have this you're way the fuck behind; again.

Alright that's it for me. I'm off to hell. I've got some new things to post in the next few weeks, including a follow up on some of those bands i didn't quite get to in 2006 but have had the chance to listen to in the meantime.

Commit This To Memory

2006-12-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

This isn't a best of 2006 as much as i want it to be. I'm not that current and i don't apologize for that. Music, like wine, needs to age and i'm glad there are people out there that agree (specifically thanks to Kevo). Some people are completely on top of everything new. I'm not one of them and i'm OK with that.

Top 3 Radio Songs of 2006 (knowing that i've listened to the radio a total of 8 minutes all year):
3. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
2. Chamillionaire - Riding Dirty
1. Shakira - Hips Don't Lie

Top 6 Bands/Albums I'm Looking Forward to Digging Into in 2007:
6. The Killers - Sam's Town
5. Radiohead (for real this time)
4. The Roots - Game Theory
3. Johnny Cash
2. Jurassic 5 - Feedback
1. The Decemberists

Top Bands That I Need a New Album from in 2007:
6. Jimmy Eat World
5. Coheed & Cambria
4. Common
3. BlackStar
2. Counting Crows
1. The Fugees

The Kanye West Award, in honor of Sophomore Albums that will inevitably suck:
Panic! at the Disco

The Pixies Award for Most Unique of the Year:
Tie between Matisyahu and Joanna Newsom

The Rocky Balboa Comeback Album of the Year:
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium

Most Critically Acclaimed Album That My Mom Suggested:
Ray LaMontagne - Trouble

The Prom Night Award for Biggest Let Down of The Year:
Thursday - A City by The Light Divided

Top 10 New (to me) Albums of 2006:
10. Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
9. Fivespeed - Morning Over Midnight
8. Doves - Some Cities
7. Matt Costa - Songs We Sing
6. Robert Earl Keen - What I Really Mean
5. OAR - Stories of a Stranger
4. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
3. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison
2. Tool - 10,000 Days
1. Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself

Imogen was a tough call at number 1, but it did get a lot of "love at first listen" points. When i first put her CD on i had no idea what to even expect and really only turned it on as background music. When i heard Hide and Seek, i stopped everything i was doing to listen to it. Then i started to CD over just to pay attention to what i had missed. I just like the depth of this CD and i like all the different influences on her music. And her voice just seals the whole deal. So i'm calling it for her. The Tool CD was mind blowing when there were actually songs, but every other track is some kind of ambient noise and that just irritates me and kills the flow of the album. The Snow Patrol album should be higher but i really haven't had a chance to listen to it very well so that's why it's low. I was really impressed with OARs CD especially since its their 8th full-length album but it sounds like its the first one where all their talent finally came together. The Doves CD is super good but it's not anything that new or that special, just an enjoyable album.

So that's that. 2006 is on it's way out, and 2007 will be over too before i've gotten used to signing it on my checks. That's just the way it goes. But the music will be here and so will this blog and the many others that have popped up. I'm looking forward to another year of great music and sharing my thoughts on it with all of you.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2006-12-18T09:08:00.000-08:00

Feeling pretty basic and tired on this Monday morning so i'm hoping the shuffle cooperates...we'll see.

1. Mellow My Man - The Roots, off of The Roots Come Alive
My freshman year of college we had 2 kids named Matt that lived on my floor in the dorms. One was like 6'2'' and one was like 5'4'', so naturally they became "Big Matt" and "Little Matt" respectively. Little Matt was from LA, babysat for Samuel L. Jackson, lived in the Hills, and loved hip hop, so much so that he was like the only short, white Jewish kid to attend the Watts Riot benefit concert with De La Soul, Rebels of Rhythm (Jurassic 5's former group) and other classic hip hop groups. This CD always reminds me of him. We listened to it straight through on the way to the mountains and and back and on the night before i moved, we sat in my room with a few people and listened to it while the party raged on outside. Good times. Good CD. The Roots are fantastic, if you didn't know.

2. Liar - Built To Spill, off of You in Reverse
My verdict is still out on Built to Spill. I really like this song but then i'll not like the next one i hear. I'm not really sure and i haven't spent enough time listening to this song to really comment on it. This song usually doesn't pass my iPod ADD test though, which means that while i'm driving, i'm constantly clicking forward on my iPod searching for the perfect song for that drive. And i'll listen to the first 30 seconds of 20 songs instead of listening to 5 songs straight through. I have ADD and unless a song really fits my mood, i'll probably just skip right past it. This song, and other Built to Spill songs, get skipped. If i practiced what i preached and actually listened to the entire CD in order, i'd probably like them a lot more.

3. Well As Well - Before Braille, off of Tired of Not Being Away from Here
I've talked about B4B a lot so i won't go back through all of it, but i will say that Rajiv, their amazing guitarist, is back from Peru and i'm really excited to see what he'll do in the next few months musically. I'm sure the South American influence will really be apparent in his new music. Here's hoping that he gets to it soon. This scene is really really lame. I can't tell you the last time i went to a local show. Oh yeah, probably since i don't have any friends in local bands anymore (good work guys, see you this weekend at Shelly and Mia's wedding...)

4. Lights - Journey, off of Journey's Greatest Hits
My iTunes loves Journey, and as we've said before, what's not to love?

5. Bullet Holes - Dispatch, off of Gut the Van
I'm really, really pissed that they broke up without me ever having the chance to see them live. From all accounts they were just an amazing live band and they're concerts were just good-times all around. Bullet Holes is one of my favorite songs from them, it starts off all slow with this cool vocal intro and harmony and then it runs off into this cool double time action. Dispatch has that college rock kinda feel to them and you can pretty much take that as a description of their music. It's not deep, it's not experimental, it won't change your life, but they do incorporate some cool keyboards, a ton of percussion (they have done entire CDs and albums without a drum set) and very cool vocal harmonies. For a road trip sing-a-long you really couldn't ask for anything better.

Well i wanted simple, and that's pretty much what i got. And even though i said i wouldn't, i'm working on a year in review type post so be sure to check that out later this week/weekend.

Things December Brings

2006-12-13T08:55:00.000-08:00

Every end of every year always brings with it a number of lists, whether it be person of the year, movie of the year, etc. And i actually thought about doing a top 5 songs or albums of the year, but it's just so predictable and i'd probably pick an album that came out in 2005 and everyone would make fun of me. Besides, music, like a fine wine or scotch, needs to age a bit. So if a new album came out this summer (ie. The Killers, Gnarls Barkley, The Raconteurs) i probably haven't gotten around to hearing it yet. So forget that.

My rambling aside, Rolling Stone has predictably released their Best 100 songs of 2006. Here it is: Top 100

Let me know what you think in the comments.

I'll post my reaction soon, i don't want to taint the jury pool just yet.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2006-12-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

This is my first shuffle in a while where i've actually had pants on while writing it, so that's a plus (depending on how you look at it, i guess.) I'm at my new office and despite having thousands of things to do, i'm staying true to the Shuffle. For those of you who don't know, i started my own promotional marketing company and we just moved in to our brand new, 2 room office this morning. It beats writing on my couch at home, although i did enjoy being able to watch the 11 am sportcenter and eating Cheerio's for lunch. But eventually, all good laziness must come to an end and i'm happy to be back doing something meaningful with my existence. There was a lot of negativity in my life last week and i'm happy to be starting this week off with a better attitude and a little more hope for humanity. And it doesn't hurt that i already went and purchased a brand new 30gb iPod video that holds all of my songs (instead of having to delete something old before adding something new, as was the case with my now stolen iPod.) There is a silver lining to everything and in this case, it's a silver and black lining with a color screen. Now on with my life and on with the shuffle.

1. Space Cowboy - Steve Miller Band
Good god, for all the positivity i just spouted, this was not what i needed as the first song of the day... Didn't Nsync have a song called Space Cowboy as well? (Don't ask how i know that. Just shutup. Shut. Up.) Anyway, funny story about Steve Miller Band. Back in high school, Adam Mortemore and I went to see Tom Petty at America West Arena. Before Petty came on stage they announced that with your ticket stub from the Petty show, you could get into the Steve Miller Band/George Thoroughgood show the following week, for free. I'd never heard of a buy one, get one free concert ticket, but hey, we were going. So we got a big crew together and went out to Desert Sky Pavillion (and yes, i realize that both of the venues i've talked about have new names, but i will not bow to the corporate naming rights phenomenon. Chase Field will always be BOB, Invesco Field will always be Mile High, and America West Arena will never be US Airways Center and Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion will never be Cricket. That's just the way it is.) Well anyway, George Thoroughgood sucked and Steve "Guitar" Miller was a lot of fun. After the show we hung out in the parking lot with two 20+ year old ladies who must of thought that were 20+ year old guys (we were like 17 tops and we would be damned before we would have told them any different) and then on the drive home, with them driving next to us, they flashed us. Yes, at 17 we were excited to see boobies, and that's what i remember most.

2. Two Points for Honesty - Guster
Guster is hugely underrated and one of the only bands from that college rock, Dispatch, OAR, backwards white hat, midwest type rock genre that is still surviving. I've always liked them and i definitely love this song. For such a happy band, this song is pretty angry. But the first line is, "If that's all you will be, you'll be a waste of time." And maybe this song hits home for me too because the second line is something like "You've dreamed a thousand dreams, none seem to stick in your mind." And that line pretty much describes me and the last 5-8 years of my life in all of its ADD glory. Something to be proud of right there.

3. (Let it be noted that another Steve Miller Band song came up in this spot and i just hit next as i shook my head with disgust. 4,278 songs and i get 2 Steve Millers in the first 5. Unbelievable.)
Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama - I Shall Not Walk Alone, off of Live at the Apollo
Today's shuffle should be called the 6 degrees of concerts i've been to. So at the aforementioned Tom Petty concert, the opener was the Blind Boys of Alabama, who by far were one of the most entertaining and enjoyable openers i've ever seen. I think i've written about that show before, so i won't go into huge detail, but these guys are actually blind and they'll get up in the middle of the show and start walking around the stage and the poor bass player will literally have to stop playing and go follow them around the stage making sure they don't trip or fall of the stage. It's high comedy. But anyway, even being as white as i am, i would have loved, LOVED, to be at this show, at the Apollo. This whole CD is magnificent and about as soulful as humanly possible. Ben Harper's low voice combined with the Southern Baptist Church choir feel of the Blind Boys is a juxtaposition for the ages. Please let me send you this CD. Just ask. I'm begging you to let me share it.

4. Angel from Montgomery - Dave Mathews Band
This is a cover that DMB does live and although the recording quality sucks, it's a good song. It originally by John Prine but Bonnie Rait did it as well. The other cool aspect of this song is that Dave only sings the chorus. It's actually the violin player singing, which i think has only happened on a few live songs. (Additionally, an IMDB.com search shows that Toby Keith is starring in a movie this year called Angel from Montgomery. Maybe they'll have a free screening of it at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill in Las Vegas. What's next from Toby? A fragrance perhaps? Everyone else has one. How about "Freedom Ain't Free" Eau Du Toillette by Toby Keith - An aromatic yet rugged mixture of Bud Light, Axle grease from a Chevy Truck and a hint of blood from wounded American soldiers. What an asshole.)

5. Table for Glasses - Jimmy Eat World, off of Clarity
People obsess over Clarity like they obsess over Radiohead. And don't get me wrong, i like the album, but I like others better. I have to be in the right mood to listen to Clarity and as we all know, i can never really love a CD unless i can listen to it anytime, anywhere and in any mood. This is a CD that i'll let play when it comes on and when it's over, i'll always remark to myself that it's a really beautiful album and that i really enjoyed listening to it, but i can't actually remember stopping what i was doing and paying specific attention to the details of the music. And i think this scene from High Fidelity pretty much articulates what i mean (and is pretty much a microcasm of this entire blog, including the Monday mix tape reference, me being physically unable to post the Monday MORNING shuffle before noon and my wierd feelings for "sad bastard music."):
[Rob turns off Barry's tape]
Barry: OK, buddy, uh, I was just tryin' to cheer us up so go ahead. Put on some old sad bastard music, see if I care.
Rob: I don't wanna hear old sad bastard music, Barry, I just want something I can ignore.
Barry: Here's the thing. I made that tape special for today. My special Monday morning for *you*... special.
Rob: Well, it's fuckin' Monday afternoon! You should get out of bed earlier!

Ha ha. Perfect. Love you guys.
Have a good day.

Giving Thanks

2006-12-10T00:25:00.000-08:00

Usually people do this kind of thing during Thanksgiving. But, in the Wright family, we do it at Christmas dinner with Grandpa. He sits at the head of the table and calls on the oldest person first. My cousin Lexi is older than me but she lives in Hong Kong and hasn't been around the last few years to cover for me. That leaves me as the oldest in attendance, and the first one that Grandpa calls on to talk about, "What they're thankful for and why." And given my bouts with ADD (and despite me knowledge that it's coming), i never have anything prepared. Fortunately, I'm an immaculate bullshitter (hey, it got me through high school AND college. I can't do simple math in my head, but i have a degree. You want to fight me on this?!?), so, at Christmas, i say a bunch of stuff about family and love and priorities, which is usually all true and i come off as the spontaneous hero and spiritual role model of my young family. Good times, trust me.
So anyway, this year, I'm taking Grandpa's challenge seriously. I've already planned my speech, and thanks to Grandpa's week in the hospital, it has never been easier. But, i thought I'd take it a step further and talk about the music and the musical people i am thankful for. And just to be warned, this may be an ongoing post because I'm sure i won't think of everything this minute. In fact, I'm just going to post one (or 3 as it turned out) thing right now, and then post sequential "Thanks" as we go towards x-mas and the new year. And maybe this will be a year-round thing, after all, why should we only be thankful during one time of the year? We'll see.

Alright, the first thing I'm musically thankful for:
This was really tough. Do i owe it to IM? Limewire? Chris Perry? (who, by the way, has hooked me up with more bands in the past 6 months (before they've become amazingly popular ie. Panic at the Disco, Lydia, Paramore, etc.) than anyone else? OK, it's cheesy, but i have to thank this blogging community. It's not the juggernaut i thought it'd be by now, but I'm an impatient and generally cranky person. It's grown by leaps and bounds since I've become a part of it. Ron wrote first in Political.Pop.Culture and many have followed suit. It's growing gradually and gaining serious steam. And for that i am happy and visibly excited. I've tried to have one blog each for all of the things I'm interested in but found myself posting about music more than anything else, hands down. And I've discovered so many new bands. A short, off the top of the head list: Augustana, Matt Costa, The Decemberists, Neutral Milk Hotel, Iron & Wine, Lupe Fiasco, Arcade Fire, Alexi Murdoch and Michael Franti, just to name a very small few. These were all thanks to Suzanne, Sara, Ron, Courtney, Laura, Erika and many others who have joined this small force.

The second, and i believe he deserves his own section (and maybe one day, his own radio station), Nole. Because he took his love of music the farthest of anyone but knew his priorities when he had enough. And he stays so true to his roots (allowing that his roots are more than a love of POD? AHHHHHHH.) From "This Song Can't be About Blowing Stuff Up Because of Terrorism" to Freeverse to the recent Led Zeppelin Top 5, Nole has always been a musical lighthouse for me to follow. Sure, some ships follow the light and run horribly aground to the oily dismay of many seagulls, penguins and otters, but for the most part, he has lead us through the rocky shores of the damn Black Eyed Peas and towards the safe port of Johnny Cash and others. And Ron deserves his own spot here too because even though he is often the driver of the bandwagon, his open minded-ness has turned us on to some music that most of us would have missed (ie. Michelle Branch). If you're the guy testing the aim of the new batting cage machines, you've got to be ready to get plunked a time or two. But you're also going to rack some homers. Thanks Ron.

Third, I'd like to thank Monday mornings, iTunes, iPods, Limewire, AIM, Discmans, Walkmans, headphones, earbuds, vinyl, the Internet, blogs; DJs Span Phly, AM and Z-Trip; my cousin Matt (who introduced me to Punk), Donny Ducote (who introduced me to grunge and angst), my girl T from Boulder (who introduced me to hip hop), Courtney (who introduced me to Emo and depression, love you Claw); the Stugo sound system, Mike Flosi and Brett Kaufman; Y95, Power 92.3 (before it was rap), 103.9 (when it was the Blaze, and now that it's back to being the Edge), the Clubhouse, the Modified, The Marquee, Hayden Lawn, Red Rocks, the Fillmore, my 500gb external hard drive, my parents record collection; and Coheed and Cambria, Thrice, Yellowcard and Thursday (who really pulled me back into loving music after a deep, deep period of losing hope back in 2003). For without these things and people, none of this would exist today.

Led Zep Top 5

2006-12-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

Gotta thank Nole for getting this started. I was having major writers block until i saw his post and i was going to leave this in his comments and then it just got carried away. Make sure you visit Nole's blog to see his thoughts and post on this topic yourselves too you lazy asses.

OK, top 5 zep songs of all time (with apologies to Good Times, Bad Times):
5. Since I've Been Loving You.
The blues riffs and solos in this song are just so smooth. And the vocals are sweet too. If Led Zeppelin had been Phish, this song would have lasted 28 minutes.

4. Kashmir - One of the coolest songs of all time. Hands down. Ever. It just is infectious. And never has a song been so simple yet sound so big and powerful. It's only this low because of P-Diddy (and Ron), who spent many many hours rhyming over exact same riff. And no, i don't care that he had Page and Plants permission and participation.

3. Nobody's Fault But Mine - Gotta love the guitar in this. And the vocals (No-no-no-no-no-no-no-noooooooobody's fault but mine). And the drums. And everything. But you have to stand and applaud at the damn harmonica. John Popper eat your cholesterol clogged heart out! (That joke doesn't work anymore because of this.) This song, in this top 5, is like that figure skater or gymnast in the Olympics who has to do their routine too early in the program and basically can't get 10s from the judges no matter how good they are because the judges are saving the 10s for later. It would be higher, but it can't be higher than Ramble On or Over the Hills and Far Away (or When the Levee Breaks for that matter, but Nole already used that one.) I used to put this song on repeat and walk from class to class at ASU just listening to this over and over and blatantly singing and air-guitaring on a crowded walkway and not giving the slightest shit how weird people thought i was. And that's how good this song is, it makes you rock out. You don't have any control over it. This song owns you. You're its bitch. You might as well lay back and enjoy it. It'll be over in about 6 minutes.

2. Ramble On - Flea and Les Claypool might, and i mean might, be able to play this bassline exactly. (Alright, i'm exaggerating, Flea could definitely rock this part, but that shouldn't take away that never, in my time playing bass, did my fingers even come close to moving that fast.) The part during the chorus is mind blowing. And the Lord of the Rings reference can't be beat: "In the darkest steps of Mordor, i met a girl so fair, but Gollum and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her." Now Eragon, Nate and I have to go track the Uruakai westward across the plain.

1. Over the Hills and Far Away - You never forget your first love. The guitar at the beginning almost sounds like a question being posed. And then when the drum kick comes in, that's the beginning of the answer. And i guess the lyrics fit that too. The guy says, Hey lady, you got the love i need. Are gonna give it to me? And then goes on to convince her why she should. (I'm not on drugs, but sometimes i think if i was, that would explain a whole lot.) I've mentioned before my passion for songs that start out slow or quiet and build up to some amazing crescendo (G&R - November Rain, Weezer - Only In Dreams, etc.) and this song gets there in a hurry but it feels like there is more wheeling, turning, tumbling fury as the song plays until about 40 seconds left and then it bottoms out into a quietness before coming back about half volume to end the song. It's like the guy paused to wait for the girls answer, she said yes, he grabbed her hand and walked off. I can see the scene in my head. And that my friends is MUSIC.

And i don't mean to put a damper on this post by ending it this way, but my garage and car were broken into last night and what do you think they stole that bothered me the most? It wasn't the golf clubs, the power tools, the skateboards or the feeling of peace and security that my neighborhood USED to give me. It was my fucking iPod (and 20 assorted CDs). And they took the tape adapter and the charger too so they probably drove away scrolling through my 4,000 songs, my belongings hastily thrown in the back of a truck. (I'm trying so hard not to assume their race right now but i'm guessing i didn't have anything they wanted to hear.) Anyway, i'm not looking for sympathy or anything but it's anecdotal evidence of how much i love music and i thought that was important to share.

Monday Morning Shuffle (The slacker afternoon edition)

2006-12-04T13:50:00.000-08:00

1. Faithfully – Journey, off of Journey’s Greatest Hits
Journey is just fantastic. I know, I know, it’s 80s and cheesy and everything but they’re also great for all those same reasons. And really, can you think of a song that has covered this topic in the last 20 years??? No, because it hasn’t been done. When I think of Steve Perry and Journey, I think of some of the hardest partying, groupie shacking rock and rollers out there and it’s hard for me to believe that they wrote a song about how hard it is to be on the road and miss their families and their wives while traveling around and then promising to be forever theirs, faithfully. It just cracks me up. And you know you like it too, stop lying to yourselves.

2. Atomic Dog – George Clinton
Let’s put it this way: Without this song Snoop Dogg has no career. George Clinton has really gotten screwed/left out of this whole forefather of hip-hop conversation. He probably would have made billions in royalties if he was The Beatles, but instead he had his just had his beats robbed from him by the word “sampling” which is somehow different that “stealing.” Puff Daddy alone owes George millions. Let’s move on.

3. Arrive Alive – Before Braille, off of The Rumor
B4B has already made an appearance on the shuffle before so I don’t need to tell you again how much I like them. I was looking at their myspace the other day however and it doesn’t look like they’ll be doing any new stuff anytime soon. That’s pretty upsetting to me but the good news is that Rajiv gets back from his mission any day now so I’m excited to have his guitar skills back in the area. I hope to hear something new and great from him soon. Maybe he can re-energize the guys. The Rumor was their first full-length CD and i’m still really impressed with it. For a local, small label release, it is just mastered and arranged so well. Like I’ve said before, the order of the songs matter so much and I think The Rumor is one of the finest examples of that I’ve found.

4. Autographs & Apologies – Motion City Soundtrack, off of I Am the Movie
You know those CD samplers you get when you buy shoes at Industrial or pick up for free at a concert or festival? Well I got one from Epitaph a while back and it had this super-catchy song called The Future Freaks Me Out by this band called the Motion City Soundtrack. The future was in fact freaking me out at the time so I loaded my car up with stuff and took off for about 3 weeks. On the way out of town I bought this CD and spent the next 3 weeks listening to it, digesting it, singing along with it. It was amazing timing. The struggles that the songwriter was going through and the struggles I was having were common in many way and of course that just sucks you deeper into any album. “Long lasting this obsession, from sleepless Mays, to Denver cold. Somewhere in between, I threw myself away.” Good stuff. But the real artwork comes on the song Modern Chemistry, a little ditty about therapy and psychiatric medicine that goes like this:
“i barely have the motivation
they say i suffer from a lack of serotonin synapses
they happen too
infrequently for me to be functioning properly
i took the pills i took the advice the panic stopped
but still i'm not right”
You work the words serotonin synapses into a song and then call me.

5. Those Sweet Words – Norah Jones, off of Feels Like Home
It’s weird how this CD never got the acclaim of the first one, even though it’s so similar. Anyway, I’ve always liked Norah. Her voice is a warm blanket, or hot chocolate, or a fire in the fireplace or a second glass of red wine or a Crown and water. Ok, maybe the last one’s just for me but seriously, you know what I’m saying. Norah is that warm tingly feeling in your belly. And that’s all I have to say about that.

And in other news, a beautiful and talented new voice has entered this conversation about music, and in turn, life. Laura is, like many of us, a frustrated journalism major searching for a medium to express her ideas and thoughts. And after some encouragement, I think she’s found an excellent venue. Check her newest words out in my link section and give her your love and thoughts in the comments.

Under the Covers

2006-11-29T11:33:00.000-08:00

So my fascination for today is covers. Yes, i know. They're the last vestige of bands without any new ideas but after hearing this band do a cover of Outkast's Hey Ya last night, i think that in some cases (as with Chris Cornell doing Billy Jean) the cover actually takes on a new life. It's amazing to me that these songs, when covered by someone with a guitar in their hands, sound like they could have been written that way originally.

So here's a hastilly written and poorly thought-out top 5 of my favorite covers.
1. Ghost of Tom Joad - Rage Against the Machine
2. Baba O' Reilly - Pearl Jam
3. Gin and Juice - Unknown (The Internets says it is Phish, i beg to differ.)
4. Dave Mathews - All Along The Watchtower (Technically Hendrix covered it from Bob Dylan, but hey, who's counting?)
5. Everywhere - Yellowcard (My Michelle Branch fascination is well documented.)

I'm practically begging you to add your favorites in the comments area. PLEASE.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2006-11-27T08:07:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a good long holiday weekend and is now out of their Tryptophan induced coma. My family got me sick, which is wonderful. There’s nothing like being on your feet for 8-10 hours a day with a vicious cold that clogs your sinuses so much that your teeth hurt. Wonderful. On to the shuffle.

1. Anything, Anything – Grey Daze, off of No Sun Today
This is a fun story. This is originally a Dramarama song from the 70s. I had heard it a time or two and liked it, but never really knew who it was or where to find it (this was in middle school before words like downloading, Napster, burning or internet were real popular. Hell, CD was relatively new.) So anyway, the Edge (back on 106.3) had some kind of show on Sunday nights after SkaPunk, I can’t remember what it was called, but they played music from local bands and maybe 6 people listened to it. Well I was one of those 6, mainly because I liked that Chronic Future song, Scottsdale Brat, and that was the only place to hear it. Well, I was also an aspiring Bass guitarist at the time and so I was constantly listening for songs with good bass lines in them. One of those songs was by a band called Grey Daze and it was called B12, it had this funky slap bass lick that really drove the whole song. Fast forward a few weeks to the old Warehouse music store in PV mall and I found the CD in the local bands rack and bought it. The album cover was this dark background with a girl in pigtails and overalls walking through the grass. It kind of reminded me of the black hole sun video and I was into pigtails and overalls at the time, so it worked. Anyway, fast forward 4 years and I’m a senior in high school. I was kind of out of things to do so I tried out for show choir. To my surprise, I made it and during the first semester we had a retreat to get to know each other and work on some stuff. Anyway, I’m sitting at the fire the first night and I’m talking to this girl Jessica Rose -- this younger, tall drink of water with long brown hair and a million things to say about life and music and movies and everything else. And she starts talking about how her dad managed and produced all these local bands and asks if I had ever heard of the band Grey Daze…and I don’t need to tell you what my answer was. But it turns out that she was the girl from the cover, whom I had noticed in 7th grade but didn’t meet until late in high school. Small, weird world.
My random story aside, this song is awesome. In any form.

2. I Knew You Before – Dustin Kensrue, off of Please Come Home
Thanks to Chris Perry for hooking me up with this solo stuff from the singer of Thrice. More and more I’m getting to like sounds like this. It really reminds me of the Matt Costa stuff I was talking about a few weeks ago. Lots of good acoustic guitar, some blues and country sounds, harmonica and, of course, some very strong vocals. And since Chris is the man, here is the link to where it is uploaded. It takes a bit to download but it’s worth it. Enjoy, and many thanks to CP.

3. Would? – Alice in Chains, off of Alice in Chains Unplugged
It seems as though we’re getting an unplugged album on here each week. This is one of my favorite ones and Alice In Chains is certainly one of those bands deserving of what used to be the honor of being “Unplugged.” The funny thing about this CD is that some of the members of Metallica were sitting in the front row at this show. And you have to remember that this was pretty much at the absolute height of Metallica’s popularity. Jerry Cantrell and the members of Alice in Chains can’t help but make fun of them while they’re sitting there complete with a joke about LL Cool J and then playing the beginning of Enter Sandman. If you listen close to the album you can hear Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield laughing and saying stuff to the band. High comedy.

4. A Camera Lens and Careful Days – Lydia, off of This December; It’s One More and I’m Free
Lydia is a great local band, although they’re kinda missing a crucial member right now. Mindy’s voice is pretty amazing/haunting/goose-bump inducing and now it’s gone, but you can still enjoy it on This December… This is a pretty mellow track but it fits in the vein of the whole CD and is one of the more beautiful tracks as well. A lot of these local bands are going after it Ramones style, just jamming as hard as possible and screaming and being so emo it hurts but Lydia actually takes some time to make some art and we’re all the better for it. They put more thought into their music than most of the acts I’ve been into lately and I guess that catches me by surprise sometimes…which is weird.

5. No Sleep Til Brooklyn – Beastie Boys, off of Licensed To Ill
What can you say? Great track on one of the greatest/most influential/most unique albums ever created. Nothing else I can say.

Anyway, that’s enough for today. I’m glad I posted this baby early today because now I get to serve Italian food to stuck-up Scottsdale bitches and blue haired snowbirds from Minnesota, and lord knows I didn’t want this hanging over my head.

Concert Review - The Rolling Stones

2006-11-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

How many times have you seen them on TV? Super Bowl halftime shows, commercials, HBO Specials, millions of things. So when they walk out onto a stage right in front of your face, it’s pretty damn surreal. And I mean, laughter inspiring surrealism. I probably laughed through the first 3 songs. Seeing Mick Jagger strutting and doing the chicken walk across the stage and seeing Keith Richards playing guitar bent over awkwardly like he was being held up by puppet strings, hearing those songs that I’ve heard thousands of times, it was just hilarious. It can’t really be described.
What can be described is how much I hate arena shows. This was the first concert at the new Cardinals stadium and man does that place suck. It’s gigantic and has a massive concrete wall at the far end, opposite of the stage. So what happens to music waves when they hit a flat concrete wall? Yeah, there’s just a wee bit of an echo. So if you’re sitting perpendicular to the stage, you hear the music from the speakers in one ear and then hear the echo of the sound in your other ear about 2 seconds later. It makes for a pretty interesting (annoying) experience. Also, sitting in the upper deck at the far end of the stadium makes the Stones look like ants. This is nothing new, but it’s the first time I’ve been to a show like that since high school so it reminded me just how useless it is to be in attendance.
Finally, the Rolling Stones, for as old as they are, are still real good. They don’t really do anything but play the same old songs but to be fair, they they play those old songs – which they’ve probably played 10s of thousands of times – with the same energy and passion as they did the very first time they played them. Would I still be excited about playing “Satisfaction” after 40 years? Hell no. But did the Stones come out and rock it just as well as ever? That would have to be a “yes.” Keith Richards actually ran around. Literally ran. The stage itself lifted up on hydraulics and drove down a track through the middle of the arena and sat back down at the other end of the stadium, giving a whole new set of people front-row seats. The backdrop of the stage was 90 feet tall and hollow so a few dozen people, who paid $500 for the seat, actually got to stand above the stage, look down on the band, and look out at the crowd. All in all, it was one of the coolest and most in-depth stage productions I’ve ever seen. It was like Cirque De Sole without the flying.
In the end, The Rolling Stones are just one of those bands that should be on everyone’s lifetime list. They’re just that kind of institution. That being said, if you’ve seen them on TV, that’s more or less the same thing too.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2006-11-20T09:35:00.000-08:00

I'm up early (well, kinda) to get the Monday Morning Shuffle done in the Morning this time. I know i promised a concert review last Wednesday too but i got a little busy (socially) and never got to it. I'm still going to do it, probably have it up by this Wednesday instead. Additionally, i've taken all of your suggestions and made a list and i've been downloading them like a madman. As soon as i can organize them into CDs and listen to them, i'll give them their very own spots here. In a related technological tragedy, my iPod is now full, so whenever i get new music, i have to delete something old. This is obviously a painful process for me. So, like i said from the beginning, if you discover a band and would like to review them yourself, i'd love to have some guest posts up here. I appreciate the suggestions of course, but i'd love for this to be a chorus instead of a solo project. Just let me know in the comments who the band you're reviewing is and when you'll have it done and i'll get it posted for you.

Anyway, on to the shuffle.

1. Where you Gonna Run - Talib Kweli, off of Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD
The iTunes is loving the underground hiphop lately. This is Kweli's most recent release and the official story is that these were tracks he recorded through his career but never released and he wanted to get them onto an album before the recording studio leaked them onto the internet for free. I really haven't had a chance to disect this album like i have the others but there are some superior tracks on this such as Where you Gonna Run, Ms. Hill (about Lauryn Hill) and Drugs Basketball & Rap. Additionally, for all you Phoenix people, Kweli is going to be performing at the Clubhouse (an excellent small venue for this type of show) on Dec. 2nd. I'd love to go but don't really know anyone else that would be interested. So, if you're at all interested, let me know in the comments. Drinks are on me.

2. Tao of Now - Saul Williams
I've always had this thought that of all the things that we try to make equal in this world, talent is the one thing we absolutely can't control. Some people are born with none, some people are born great at one thing and one thing only, and some people are born with heaps and heap of it and find skills in any avenue they persue. Saul Williams is the latter. He acts, he writes music, he writes books, he is one of the undisputed Slam Poetry champions in all of the world, he is one of the greatest political voices of our generation (think Ginsberg, DuBois, Robeson and Shakur wrapped into one) and most of you have probably never heard of him.
I first heard of Williams when a class i was in watched his movie Slam. It was about a guy arrested for selling small amounts of pot and put in jail next to the murderers and the rapists. He writes slam-style poetry in jail, pounds out beats on his bars and makes a few friends and avoids some ugly situations through his words. It kinds sounds hokey when i describe it that way, but it isn't and i highly suggest you rent the film. Anyway, i became a huge slam poetry fan after that and absorbed everything i could. Williams has 3 books or poems out, She, 'Said the Shotgun to the Head, and his most recent, The Dead Emcee Scrolls. He also has 2 solo cds out, Amethyst Rockstar and a self-titled album, both of which are fantastic. His music is mainly his poems set to beats but the productions and creativity is fantastic. This song, Tao of Now, is off of a compilation CD called Lyricist Lounge, and is probably one of my favorite poems and beats that he has.
I went to see him live in Boulder, CO when i lived there. The two opening hiphop groups got the house all wound up and excited and then Saul walked out onto this stage in this dark blue light. We didn't know if he was going to have a DJ or a band or if he was just going to read poems, but everyone was standing there, hot and sweaty from dancing, and Saul just said, "Everyone can take a seat because the only music i'll be playing is between the lines." He was carrying a tattered canvas messenger bag, wearing old Chuck Taylors like he was on his way to class or something, and he pulled out a journal from his bag, set the bag against the mic stand and just started to read various poems. In between he took questions from the audience and talked about where the world was headed and what we could all do to fix it. It was one of the most inspirational and moving nights of my existence.
If you haven't heard of Saul Williams, i highly, highly suggest you get into him. Whether it's the music, or the books, or the movie, or just looking him up on Wikipedia and reading some of his poems, you won't be sorry. He is one of the greatest artists of our short time here. I don't even hesitate to say it.

3. Mo Money, Mo Problems - Notorious BIG
Wow, talk about your all-time 180s. We go from one of the greatest poet activists of our time, to one of the people who was most resposible for turning rap into what it is today. Now don't get me wrong, this is a great song: a great beat, good rhymes, all the featuring artists you could ever want, but to mention Saul in the same shuffle with Biggy just doesn't seem right. I think the BIG man did some good things in his career, he had some songs that changed things, he said some things that got people thinking, he was absolutely one of the forefathers of rap music, he was influential to thousands of artists. Whether he made the right influences or not is up for you to decide. You can hear a little bit of biggy in every album out today, from the superb College Dropout album to the absurd Lil John albums. Just depends on which side you'd like to take.

4. Brand New Colony - The Postal Service, off of Give Up
I'm not going to lie to you. When i clicked next after Mo Money, Mo Problems it went back to Saul Williams then to a skit on Kanye's Late Registration, then to Common, then to this. And we've just had enough hiphop in the last 2 weeks so i had to skip forward and break the streak. I don't know what the shuffle on my iTunes is smoking, but it's probably Chronic.
I love this song from Ben Gibbard because it just sounds like the sounds from a really old video game, like PacMan or something. The Postal Service is great, i don't need to tell any of you this, let's move on.

5. As i Rise - The Decemberists, off of Her Majesty
There have been calls for The Decemberists for a long time so i'm glad they finally came up on the shuffle (Happy now Courtney???). I haven't had a chance to listen to this CD in it's entirety from front to back so i'll reserve passing too much judgement right now. But at first glance, i like this song. Despite it's only being 2:15 long, i think it has an interesting parlor song feel to it and i'm curious to hear how it fits into the mix of the rest of the CD.

Alright, i'll post something else this week, hopefully the concert review. If i don't catch you before Thursday everyone have a happy Turkey day and fall into a tryptophan induced coma on the couch listening to something good (or watching the Broncos win.).

Ron's Idea Come To Life

2006-11-14T14:09:00.000-08:00

In yesterday's shuffle, Ron provided a great idea in the comments and that idea was to have a running list of musicians we'd love to see doing new stuff, reuniting with old or different bands, or just reincarnating themselves in different forms, etc.
His idea was Zach De La Rocha getting together with ?love and The Roots band and putting out a new album. And i couldn't agree more. I miss Zach's voice, his lyrics and his energy (Download Blackalicious - Release, Saul William -Act III, Scene 2, Shakespeare). So that's a great combo, and a great idea. Thanks Ron, for the comments and for the great idea.

So i could think of nothing, and i mean absolutely nothing, better than kicking this idea off with something that has already happened.
Preface: When Soundgarden broke up, i was sad. When Rage broke up, i was really sad. When i heard Chris Cornell and the remaining members of Rage were going to get together and form a band, i was super excited. When i finally heard Audioslave, i could not have been more disappointed.
So here's my wet dream of a band, that fortunately has already been done: Chris Cornell by himself, singing Billie Jean. And it's your lucky day, here is the link.

I always loved Cornell's voice, and it alternately sounds great and horrible in that track. And some of the guitar bugs me, but seriously, how haunting are those lyrics when he sings it? It gave me the chills. Please provide your ideas in the comments.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2006-11-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Monday Morning Shuffle is consistently becoming the Monday Afternoon Shuffle but for the sake of continuity we’ll just leave it that way. I apologize for the tardiness but I’m betting nobody really cares.

Anyway, I want to address a few of Courtney’s comments from my last post before we get to the shuffle.

First off, I know Courtney has seen the movie from which this blog’s name is derived and I bet if she watched that movie again she would figure out where Kathleen Turner Overdrive came from and it really has nothing to do with Taking Care of Business or the amount of Kathleen Turner movies they play in AZ.

Second, I appreciate and agree with everything she said. A CD is a book, the songs are the chapters, you can’t just listen to one or two songs and judge the whole album. I talked about this in an earlier post, about how all songs are on a CD in a specific order and some bands and some producers put an incredible amount of time and effort into deciding the order. I’ve always liked and appreciated albums that were put together correctly and recently (since the days I lived with Courtney in CO) have become almost fundamental in my quest for listening to albums in their entirety. I guess when I lived with Courtney I had a tendency to download partials CDs and base judgments on that. I’ve grown up a little since then and now am a very staunch believer in having the entire CD before I press play. Even if I downloaded it off of Kazaa (or Limewire, if you will). So my judgments on my posts last week and, as you’ll notice, quite a few of my statements on the Monday Morning Shuffles, are based on the entire albums versus just a few songs.

I said last week in my comments about Radiohead that they were one of the bands that I just missed. Completely. So yes, I missed a lot of context by not hearing OK Computer and whatever other albums came between. One of these days maybe I’ll have the chance to go back and really dive into Radiohead. The reason I wrote that post was for someone to challenge me to really dig into the groups I didn’t understand, and Courtney did exactly that. I never pretended to say that I have really studied any of those bands and could make a seriously educated deduction. The initial title of the post was going to be “Bands I Don’t Like” but while I was writing, I was listening to them and was really actually enjoying the music. So I had to seriously backtrack and re-evaluate my position. That’s the point of the blog, to get stuff out in the open, to air it out, and to learn about music and become a better music fan. I’m glad that is starting to happen.
Finally, I appreciate Sigur Ros and their roots and their influences and I think that just sitting there and listening and meditating and feeling their music would be an excellent and enjoyable experience. However, as I’ve said before, my favorite bands and favorite albums are ones that I can put on anytime, anywhere and enjoy without having to put away special time or special incense for. That’s never going to change, I don’t think, and that’s why Sigur Ros and some of the other bands I’ve named will never make my Top 5 list of all-time favorites, no matter how good they may be.

Thanks for your time, on with the shuffle.

1. Extracurricular – At The Drive-In, off of Relationship of Command
Before they blew the world away with the Mars Volta (and to a much, much lesser extent, with Sparta), At The Drive-In put out some pretty damn good hardcore screamo whatever label you want to call it. Extracurricular is second only to One-Armed Scissor as far as my favorite ATDI songs. It has a really catchy hook and beyond that, it just pretty much rages. The drums really drive this song along in a hectic, loud and borderline out-of-control kind of way, but they never cross that line into noise. Very few bands pull that off. I also really like the guitar riff that echoes through during the chorus. Let’s put it this way, if you’re really feeling Remy Zero right now, you probably won’t want to get into ATDI, but if you’re loving the new Tool, then ATDI might be a logical step. Great workout music, to say the least.

2. Heart of the City – Jay-Z, off of Jay-Z Unplugged
Remember last week when I said that some people really deserved unplugged albums and lately MTV had just sold them out (wait, am I really surprised???) to anyone with more than 5 minutes of stage experience. Well I failed to mention that Jay-Z was one of those that I really liked. Whether he deserved the shot or not could be argued (I would say Yes) but what Jay did was completely make the most out of his unplugged shot. And it’s not even so much him, as in, we know he can rap, he really doesn’t do anything special in his own performance. But what he does do is get the Roots band to back him up. I love the Roots, and I love the fact that it’s Hip Hop to a live band. They’re amazing musicians and I love that they make so much better music than anyone with turntables and a beta machine could ever dream of. And to have them backing up Jay-Z and playing his beats and adding nuances and layers to his music that blow his records out of the water, it just makes the whole album. When they open up with Izzo, well, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have goosebumps.

3. It’s Going Down – Blackalicious, off of Blazing Arrow
Blackalicious is one of my favorite hiphop groups ever. The lead MC Gift of Gab is one of the most talented rappers to never get played on the radio. Most know him from the Alphabet Aerobics track when he just rattles off rhymes using only words with the first letter of the alphabet, in order. It’s an impressive track to say the least but he has many more genius moments on the albums Nia and Blazing Arrow. My favorite track is the song “Release” which features vocals from Zach DeLa Rocha from Rage and of course my favorite poet in the world, Saul Williams. That song blows my mind. (I heard Gift’s solo stuff is also amazing.) One of my favorite Blackalicious moments happened when I would hang out and drink beers at Adam Pierce’s house in Tempe and he would put this record on (that’s right, vinyl). He had just the instrumental of the entire Blazing Arrow album, no lyrics, but it was just about the coolest fucking thing ever to chill out and talk while listening to. You can’t say that about too many rap albums.

4. Bedstuy Parade – Mos Def, off of The New Danger
Wow, this is turning into the underground hiphop shuffle today. Not that you could call Mos Def underground anymore but you can’t exactly say that his music is mainstream either. Mighty Mos is one of my favorite artists of all time but I can’t say that I really got into this CD. I love “Black on Both Sides” but this album just never caught me in the same way. I really appreciate what Mos tried to do on this album, he incorporated a bunch of different instruments and a lot of heavy guitar sounds and a lot of really atypical things that you wouldn’t hear on an album of this genre. And I appreciate his effort but it really didn’t work for me. It’s almost like he tried to be too different and use too many different time signatures and things. I don’t know. I’m hoping he gets back to basics on his next album. We’ll see.

5. Could Be Anything – The Eames Era, off of Grey’s Anatomy Soundtrack
My good friend Suzanne burned this soundtrack for me and as TV show soundtracks go, well it’s everything you’d expect. It has the token Postal Service, Rilo Kiley and Tegan and Sara songs, a little old school with Medeski, Martin and Wood, and a bunch of random cutesy tracks designed to make you feel like no matter how many bands you think you know, you’ll never know as much as whoever put that soundtrack together.

Alright, that’s enough for today. On Wednesday we’re going to have Championship Vinyl’s very first concert review. Yep, I finally made it out to see someone live for the first time in forever and I’m going to share about it. Stay tuned.

Don't Make Me Work To Like Your Music

2006-11-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

This was going to be called the Top 5 bands I’ve listened to and haven’t really liked, but then I realized I probably hadn’t given them enough time. So I went back and listened to each of them and realized that I was wrong about a few of them. So this Top 5 List is going to be called the “Tasted Better on the Way Up” Top 5.

1. Sigur Ros – Didn’t like them the first time, didn’t like them the second time. Although I do think it’s ballsy to call your CD “untitiled” and then have all the tracks be called “untitled 1-8.” Sometimes you’re just looking for music to ignore, you want something playing, but you don’t want to pay attention to it of be moved by it in anyway. That is Sigur Ros for me. I’m not taking anything away from them as musicians, because some of the songs are absolutely beautiful, but I just crave more from my music. I want it to effect me, and this doesn’t.

2. The White Stripes – I know some of you will be offended by this but I can’t like the White Stripes no matter how much I listen to them. I’ve tried, I really have. And sometimes I can even get through a song or two, but I just don’t get them, I don’t get what they’re about and sometimes I feel like they’re just making noise for the sake of making noise. Some bands can pull this off (Modest Mouse) and some just can’t. I liked that video, and I liked it when they were on the Simpsons, I just don’t like their music. Here’s hoping the Racontuers are better.

3. Elliott Smith – I like Elliott, I wish that I had known him pre-mortem, and I like his music in the right mood or when I need something to ignore. That being said, I’m a happy person and I’ve never been sad enough to really enjoy his music. Whether that’s a blessing or a curse is up to you to decide.

4. Arcade Fire – These guys definitely took some time to grow into. They were one of those bands who came out of nowhere and people were instantly obsessed and buzzing about them and I looked them up on Wikipedia before I even listened to them. I noticed they were from Quebec (French-canadian) and that they were some internet phenomenon. Well when something gets picked up by a ton of people and I miss it, I have a tendency to just naturally hate it, you know, just because everyone else likes it (see: Titanic, Livestrong Bracelets, Reality TV). So when I finally listened to The Arcade Fire, all I could think of was sissy French music with no drive or destination. It occurs to me now that I had already decided not to like them and so it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have listened to them a few times now and they’re growing on me. But there’s still something that sticks with me and I’ll cover that more at the end of this post.

5. Radiohead – This one will probably piss more of you off than the others and deservedly so. I remember when I was in 7th grade and the “Creep” song came out and I loved it. It had just the requisite amount of angst and a nice crisply-edged guitar riff and I really liked it. I actually heard it on the radio a few nights back and was reminded about how much I had completely lost Radiohead in all of their reincarnations since that song. Fast forward a few years and I’m listening to Kid A and I just don’t get it. I like it, but I just don’t understand it. Some of the choices they made in the sound effects and vocal arrangements just don’t make any sense to me. It’s like they messed with some funky effect and pedals just for the sake of messing with it and I’ve never understood why bands do that. I think the bottom line for me is that there are so many people who are just obsessed with Radiohead and everything the band does just connects with these people so deeply and so powerfully and that just doesn’t happen with me (if you’re one of those people, PLEASE explain it to me in the comments. Am I missing something?). I like them, but they don’t unlock the secrets of the universe for me like they do for others. Who knows, maybe I’m jealous.

Alright, here’s the thing about my relationship with these bands and bands like them. To really like a CD or a band, I don’t feel like I should have to be in a certain mood for it. A band that really jives with what I’m into, I will like any time, anywhere, in any mood. I like 85% of all the music I hear, so when I have to really work at liking a band, it catches me by surprise and it instantly turns me off. Music has always been one of the only things in my life that has come completely without effort and I really like to keep it that way. So for those bands that are going to make me work to understand them, it’s probably not going to happen. I like my art to be effortless and sometimes it seems like these bands put so much effort into being different or ground breaking or they're so worried about being mainstream that they over-complicate their own music. They add all these effects and weird instruments and they make musical decisions that although they may come off as genius and unique to some, they just come off as smug and arrogant to me. It's like they said, "Well let's record a cat dying right in the middle of this song and a nail file in this one and a pipe bomb full of goldfish in this one and fuck them if nobody likes it, we're artists and we're better than them." And sometimes that arrogance transfers to their fans to, but hey, that's a whole other post.

Send your hate mail and death threats in the comments.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2006-11-06T10:20:00.000-08:00

1. False Media - The Roots, off of Game Theory
I'll be honest, i just got this CD and i haven't had a chance to really digest it. That being said, i love the Roots, i've heard nothing but good things about this CD, and i'm really glad the Roots took another turn at making a political statement. People with the loudest voices need to be saying these things. I talk about them on Everything is A-Ok all day long, but like 7 people read that right now. Anyway, this CD is going to have to be really damn good to compare to the Tipping Point (their last album), but i'm crossing my fingers. Bottom line, The Roots have always been good, they've been around a long damn time and unlike another formerly good formally underground hip-hop group i could mention, they haven't resorted to hiring a meth-head with very little talent and a heinous face but a decent body to sell their records.

2. Running on Faith - Eric Clapton, off of Eric Clapton Unplugged
Remember when MTV did unPlugged shows with only the biggest groups and even then, only with people who actually had the talent to pull it off? Nirvana, Eric Clapton, Alice-In-Chains...all of them talented, and huge draws at the time they did the show. Yesterday while channel surfing i was a show that said "MTV Unplugged" so i clicked on it to see who it was, hoping for one of the greats. It was fucking Ricky Martin.

3. Midnight Show - The Killers, off of Hot Fuss
I love this CD when it first came out and then it got overplayed in a hurry. Some people think it compares to Pearl Jam in its longevity but i disagree. Does anyone have any thoughts on their new CD? I haven't heard it yet but i have heard mixed reviews. Anyone who loves it/hates it can have their own post on this site if they'd like to review it for me. (And send me a copy.)

4. The Velorium Camper III: Al the Killer - Coheed & Cambria, off of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
That's a damn mouthful isn't it? Full Disclosure: Co&Ca is one of my absolute favorite bands. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being a basic music fan, 10 being the obsessed kids flipping through the comic books and liner notes trying to pick up any single clue they can as to the story of Coheed and Cambria, i'm about a 7. I'm not trying to determine the story for myself, but i'm definitely interested in it and will be in line buying the next CD the moment it comes out (unless Perry can get it for me early, like he always seems to do.). So anyway, for those of you who don't know, here is a basis of the story so far. And for those of you who have never listened, i definitely suggest giving them a try. They're not for everyone so i can't guarantee everyone who reads this will like them (Suzanne, ahem.) but if you like addictive guitar riffs, soaring solos and a lead singer with a massive afro who sounds like Geddy Lee from Rush, i highly suggest you check them out.

5. So Far Away - Dire Straits, off of Sultans of Swing
Not the song i would have picked from this Cd but hey, it's the shuffle, you can't argue. Anyway, back in the day, when i still thought i loved country music, i was in a car on the way to baseball practice when one of my friends (who may, or may not have been Brandon Peyton) had Money for Nothing playing in his Dad's truck. The guitar solo at the beginning was so damn mind blowing that it just stuck with me. This is probably one of the very first glimpses i had of what rock music could be like and while it may not have been the defining moment in my conversion from country, it was definitely a crumbling in that foundation. Dire Straits is a great older band and really has a lot of the same characteristics of what i like in a band as coheed. Great catchy riffs, pretty great lyrics and awesome solos. I didn't think i'd ever be comparing Dire Straits to Coheed but hey, that's what you get with the Shuffle. Oh and MBFY.

Alright, that's enough for today. Tune in Wednesday when i inject some major controversy into Championship Vinyl.

The Half-Marathon Playlist

2006-11-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

Alright, this isn’t finished yet but this is what I came up with just scrolling through iTunes. I like to work out to harder music with a solid beat and stuff that will distract me (ie. Good lyrics, a story, etc.). I also like some continuity among the music so I put a couple songs in a row. We’ll see how it works out. I’m going to go give it a test run (pun very much intended) right now.

1. Tom Petty – Running Down a Dream
2.-8. Rajiv Patel – The Retaliation for what they’ve done to us
I’m using this whole CD because it has a great beat to run to and it’s perfect to get me into the rhythm I’ll need. It’s 27 minutes long and should get me through at least 2.5 miles.
9. Fall Out Boy – Of All The Gin Joints In All The World
10. Fall Out Boy – Dance, Dance
11. Fall Out Boy – Sugar We’re Going Down
12. Modest Mouse – Float On
13. Mos Def – Fear Not of Man/Hip Hop
14. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Higher Ground
15. RHCP – Suck My Kiss
16. RHCP – Slow Cheetah
17. RHCP – Make You Feel Better
18. Tool – Vicarious
19. Tool – Jambi
20. Tool – Schism
21. A Perfect Circle – Magdalena
22. A Perfect Circle – Three Libras
23. Coheed & Cambria – Ten Speed
24. Coheed – The Suffering
25. Coheed – 33
26. Coheed – A Favor House Atlantic
27. Fivespeed – Fair Trade
28. Guns & Roses – November Rain
29. Bob Seger – Against the Wind
30. Eric Clapton – Running on Faith
31. Hoobastank – Running Away
32. Run Fay Run – Isaac Hayes
33. Pink Floyd – On The Run
34. Snow Patrol – Run
35. Soul Asylum – Runaway Train
36. Steve Miller Band – Take the Money and Run
37. Talib Kweli - Where you Gonna Run
38. Three Doors Down – Duck and Run
39. Thursday – Running from the Rain

40. I need something to end with. We Are the Champions is a little too cliché and maybe a little too dramatic for a kid who will stumble in the middle of the pack on a HALF marathon and isn’t actually winning anything.

Alright, this is just a preliminary list. Just like the race, this will take some training and some dedication. It’s all out of order and doesn’t really have the continuity I need it to. Besides, it’s already at 2.5 hours and I really wasn’t planning on running that long. We’ll see I guess. I’m sure I’ve missed some crucial songs.

Please give me your suggestions in the comments.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2006-10-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

1. Raum Der Zeit – Wizo, off of Survival of the Fattest
You know those songs that you love, but they just aren’t in your native language? Then you end up learning all the words -- or just the sounds of the words anyway -- but you have no idea what it means or what you’re saying and yet you can't stop singing it? Yeah, you all have one. I know it.
Well this is that song for me. It’s in German, and I’m pretty sure it’s an anti-nazi song or something like that. I’m too lazy to find the words right now but I’m pretty sure the translation is available somewhere. Here’s the thing, it’s a German punk song, and it sounds exactly like you’d expect a German punk song to sound. Lots of words that sound like their being fed through a wood-chipper and some chanting. In other words, it’s a good fist-pumping song. Download it. Or I’ll send it to you.

2. One-Armed Man - Project 86, off of Drawing Black Lines
Wow, my iTunes is obviously in a hardcore mood this morning. Another great fist-pumping, head-nodding, mosh-pit song. These guys reached their peak for me back in the POD, Christian hardcore, roadie for Freeverse days. (If you don’t know what Freeverse is, you’ve probably found this blog by accident, but just ask me.) I saw these guys at the old Mason Jar (no, it wasn’t the Jar, what was the other venue? I can’t remember. It was closed because they were selling drugs out of it. And we had a high-school battle of the bands in the basement. Somebody help. The Nile Theater?) in Mesa and it was absolutely the hottest concert I’ve ever been to. It was in July or August with no air conditioning and I wore jeans and moshed in the 2nd row the whole time. I thought I was going to pass out. Anyway, this is a hardcore sing-along song and it’s pretty inspirational. It’s a good song to work hard to, it makes you want to do good things. And I think it just found itself a place on the half-marathon playlist.

3. Taylor – Jack Johnson, off of On and On
And now for something completely different… I was really feeling the harder tunes this morning and the shuffle threw me for a loop. Oh well. I love the guitar at the beginning of this song. It makes me want to play my guitar. But then I’d pick it up and by the time I got it tuned and realized that I don’t know how to play, I’d get bored and frustrated and put it away and that would just be a waste of time. I don’t have to tell you that this is a good song and that Jack Johnson is good, and supremely cool. But most of his songs sound exactly the same. Are we sure he didn’t write songs for Everclear?

4. Braun Yr Aur - Led Zeppelin
This is a song I stumbled upon through Coheed & Cambria. C&C has this little guitar ditty at the end of their most recent CD. It’s kind a secret song deal and nobody really knows what it is called or what its relevance to the CD is but it sounds a little like Braun Yr Aur and so people just started calling it that. So I downloaded the actual Braun Yr Aur and although I hear a resemblance, the 2 songs are pretty different. I’m not sure how anyone made this connection. Anyway, it’s a cool short little guitar thing and if you’re into that I’m sure you’ll like this. In the words of Nole, “Listen to Led Zeppelin.”

5. Black and White Town – Doves, off of Some Cities
I’ve been waiting for these guys to pop up for a while so I could suggest them to you. They’re kind of a trendy choice right now but my friend Tim Hill recommended them to me and I’m a fan. This is probably the most eligible single off of this CD but I recommend listening to the CD as a whole. It’s kind of a lost art these days but CDs should be listened to from start to finish. A lot of people put a lot of effort into making the songs fit together in a certain way in order to make the CD tell a story and inject it’s various moods into your experience while you’re listening. Sure it doesn’t work with Britney Spears CDs but some bands are good enough to pull this off. This is one of them. As always, I’m more than happy to burn and/or IM this CD to you. It’s a good one and I highly suggest them.

I’m off to run and put some more thought into the half-marathon playlist. Keep the suggestions coming. I’ll be unveiling a good chunk of the list on Wednesday.

A City By The Light Divided

2006-10-26T23:44:00.000-07:00

Coming from the file of CDs I was originally completely disappointed with,Thursday’s new (well, relatively new) “A City by the Light Divided.”
After the amazingness that was “War All The Time,” I was really excited for this CD. The name sounded good and I was looking forward to being into a new CD for a few weeks. You know those albums where that’s all you want to listen to nonstop? Well I really, really needed one of those. And this wasn’t it.
The day the CD released, I hit Best Buy on the way home from work, ripped off the impossible-to-open wrapper and plugged that baby in. Now my car isn’t worthy of pimp my ride or anything, but it has a GOOD sound system. I made sure of it when I bought the thing. So when the first few notes hit in this thunderous crescendo to open the album, I was psyched. So then when Geoff Rickley, the lead singer, unleashed what is usually a rivetingly unique brand of vocal mayhem, it came through my speakers as more of a whisper. Still the music was thrashing for the first 2 tracks so I was willing to give the rest of the CD a chance. By track 3 however, the disk was out of my player. It was a quiet song, you couldn’t hear the vocals and it just wasn’t good. My hopes and dreams for this CD were shattered.
Still, the first 2 songs stuck in my mind as good hardcore music that I had enjoyed listening to. A few months later, one of those first 2 songs came across my shuffle on my computer and the sound was better. Rickley was still quiet, but not to such an unnoticeable extent. I checked the reviews on the internet and many others were complaining about the same issues with the vocals. I stopped blaming the band and started blaming the producers. They didn’t have the levels on the vocals high enough and that’s what caused the CD to suck.
So anyway, I ended up throwing the CD into the clock CD player in my bathroom. BINGO. Without too many equalizers or settings, the small speakers in my clock radio had the perfect tone to make this CD finally sound the way it was supposed to sound. Even track 3, the song that previously killed the CD for me got pretty good. So once I could get past 3, I got to experience track 4, “At this Velocity”, which is classic Thursday “screamo” and archetypical Rickley lyrics like “We're placed on a plane pointed straight down/Traveling at five hundred feet per second/Five thousand feet from the ground.” The imagery and the metaphor is just what you expect from these guys in their lyrics, it’s just too bad you can’t hear them.
A City by the Light Divided feels like an addendum to the first 2 full-length Thursday albums. “At this Velocity” and the opening track “The Other Side of The Crash” are obvious references to previous songs. It’s almost like they didn’t fit all they wanted into those CDs so they released this CD of afterthoughts. It isn’t a bad thing; in fact, it’s kind of interesting to watch their thought process and evolution throughout these albums.
My favorite song on the CD is “The Lovesong Writer” not because it’s an especially interesting sounding song, but simply because of these lyrics: “Sitting alone in the dark of a stadium/He whispers his secrets into a cheap guitar/With the flick of his wrist he turns words into melodies/Chords into church bells, fill up the allies/Lovers entwine in the heat of the night/And by dawn are apart in the shivering silences/We will pretend
That it’s all just made up.”
Here’s the bottom line: If you’re a Thursday fan and you haven’t heard this CD, definitely check it out, and play it on a player with small speakers. If you’ve never heard a Thursday song, I would suggest buying "Full Collapse", falling in love with it, then buying "War All The Time", becoming obsessed with it, then in about a year or two, buy "A City By The Light Divided." Hopefully by then, they’ll have the sound worked out, and by then, you’ll have a better appreciation of just what these songs mean. Have fun.

p.s. Since I’m now hooked on running and will be spending at least 2 hours running at least 13.1 miles this coming January, I’m working on a 2-hour playlist for what I’ll be listening to during the half-marathon. I’ve got some great ideas, but it’s 2 hours and I’ll need help.
I figure that I need 35-40 songs and I’m going to need to organize them in 4.3 mile (or about 40-50 minute) sections. My attitude will be changing during this race from excitement, to needing a steady rhythm, to needing to ignore pain, to needing to dig deep, to needing a triumphant few songs to finish the last half mile or so. I have some ideas, but I’d love some help. I’ll be posting a main blog for this soon and keeping a running (no pun intended) tally of all the ideas I have, until the playlist is finished.
Here’s my idea for track 1: Tom Petty – Running Down a Dream. What are your ideas?

Monday Morning Shuffle

2006-10-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is coming dangerously close to becoming the Monday Afternoon Shuffle. I've been out of bed for a while, promise. It's just that i've been catching up on all the reading i missed out on during this Danny Bogen-inspired waste of a weekend. I swear, everytime that kid comes in town, my life expectancy loses a year or two. Oh well. Totally worth it.

1. Fleas - NOFX from Punk In Drublic
In the vein of other classic punk songs, this is under 2 minutes and is very uncomplicated. It's just a good, hard, 3-chord rocker that says what it wants and then ends. So punk right now. And a good one to get your blood pumping first thing on a Monday.

2. I Miss You - Incubus from Make Yourself
There was a time when this song was "that" song that made all the ladies swoon and gather around me and look at me with adoring, fawning eyes as i played it on the guitar. But then i quickly moved on to John Mayer's "Your Body is a Wonderland" when Incubus came out with their most recent CD which dropped their band from popularity faster than a lead fart. I'll admit that i used to worship this CD. I thought their lyrics were genius, they had a nice balance of nice melodies and hard rock and i really thought they were cool. I'm pretty sure now that it was just that time in my life when i was going through a lot of the feelings that this CD dealt with. Now that i'm over those feelings, i'm pretty much over the CD too. It also may have been because i wanted desperately to be the lead singer of a band and that Brandon's voice most closely resembled mine, at least for singing-in-the-car purposes.

3. Justice - Fivespeed from Trade In Your Halo
Fivespeed has shown up in this space before so there's not a ton else to say other than they're a great local band and you should really be listening to them.
This song is the last track on their first CD and it just has a really interesting and haunting quality to it.

4. The View - Modest Mouse from Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Those people who knew Modest Mouse before this CD came out will argue that this album really doesn't compare to anything the did previously as if now that everyone knows them, they're no longer any good. Whether that is true or not, i can't debate because i'm just getting on the Modest Mouse bandwago myself. But i like this CD and i really don't think it's as mainstream as the old fans accuse it of being. There are still some very funky beats and some very indie tendencies that will keep this album from really being "mainstream." By that, i mean that the Justin Timberlake crowd won't understand this album.
The View is one of the more poppy songs on the album but by that i mean it sounds like the actually practiced it before recording it. And they write lyrics like lyrics were meant to be be written, full of symbolism, metaphor and hyperbole. It leasves something to decipher and figure out how it applies to you. That's a disappearing artform these days.

5. Kick Out The Jams - Rage Against the Machine from Renegades
This is a cover of an MC5 song that Rage that Rage remade for their Renegades album. Someone once said that making a greatest hits or cover album is basically code for a band saying "We're done, We've got nothing new left." And boy it was never more true than in the case of Rage. This was their last album of course. I thought they did a service to a younger generation with this album though, or at least a service to me. I would have never listened to Afrika Bambatta and the Soul Sonic Force or old Springsteen or EPMD or E-40 if it wasn't for this CD and my curiosity about what the original songs sounded like. And so i'm grateful for this album because it exposed me to some great hip-hop and other types of revolution and protest music. I'm glad i didn't miss out on that. There's a great story behind this song at Wikipedia. Here's the link.

Alright, that's the Monday Morning (afternoon) Shuffle for this week. I'll post something new on Wednesday. Fight the power.

Teen Angst Top Five

2006-10-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

This site promises top five lists, and so it's about time that i finally get down to one. This is called the Teen Angst Top Five, not because all these songs are angstful, but because that's what i was listening to when i was an unhappy teenager (some may argue that i still am, but that's another topic for another day.). And in a new wrinkle, most of these music videos are on youtube.com, so i'm posting the links so you can enjoy. Just click on the song name and it'll take you there.

#5. Buddy Holly - Weezer - Blue Album
It was a hard choice between this and "The Sweater Song" and really, both should be here. But, when pressed, i had to go with Buddy Holly. I think the video put me over the top, really. This wasn't so much an angstful album so much as an album that so completely articulated the awkwardness of being that age it was scary. On "Only In Dreams" my favorite line is "It's a good thing you float in the air, that way i won't crush your pretty toenails into a thousand pieces." And after Kevin on the Wonder Years and all those other shows set all us boys up for being retarded at every school dance, while the girls were more mature and always looked like they were having more fun while we just stood against the wall afraid of rejection and stepping on toes, i mean, that was just the Blue Album. I don't know of any guy my age that didn't have it. Except for Danny Bogen, who for some reason always liked rap. But he's it.

#4. Eat The Rich - Aerosmith - Get A Grip
There was an age when swearing became suddenly OK. And then it was more than OK, it was cool, and you were lame if you didn't. I remember exactly where i was when i first said Fuck. (In the desert behind Sonoran Sky elementary school, on the land that is now the JCC.) Matt Mahonen made me say it to get into their fort, and it probably took me a good 15 minutes to work up the courage. And damn wasn't that a slippery slope. But this CD also came out when the parents of America were freaking out about music and slapping parental advisory stickers on everything and my mom was one of those moms that paid attention to that stuff. So i had to hide those CDs or blackout the advisory label with a magic marker and only listen to those CDs on my headphones. So Eat The Rich was such a battle cry (even though i was a spoiled little rich kid), just because it had a cuss word in it that my mom wouldn't have liked. That's a big step for kids that age. That and the pierced cow udder on the CD cover. That was awesome.

#3. Enter Sandman - Metallica - Black Album
I'm not going to lie. I was a masssssssssssssiive Metallica fan. Every CD, every lyric, every b-side, every book, DVD, box set, everything. I loved them. I played bass like Jason Newsted, i even sang in a Metallica cover band for like a month. But this song was without a doubt my first love. This song was the door that opened up Metallica to me. Before i liked Metallica, i liked country. Then i started playing hockey with my good friend Doug and we listened to Metallica in his front yard while playing. I started to get the songs stuck in my head and eventually bought the tape...yeah that's right, the tape. Enter Sandman just had that kick to it, that chorus and that thrash that you just couldn't escape. It was perfect angry kid music. And it still is really. I liked them from about 6th grade on through to the day Jason left the band. I can still remember Alissa Butler walking down the hall towards me during 7th hour of high school with tears running down her face.

#2 - Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden - Superunknown
Speaking of tragic break-ups. This one was a hard one for me too. But without delving into that, or my disappointment with Audioslave, let's just discuss this song, because there's plenty to say about it. From that opening guitar, to the first drum kick, to Chris' voice coming in, to the dark, twisted lyrics that made zero sense, it was just good. And for some reason it made sense then. Honestly the video for this song is probably the last time i watched a video straight through on MTV. And that had to be what 10 years ago? This has to be one of the creepiest and best videos ever made. And that's what it was about then. It wasn't a commercial for your band, it wasn't interrupted by some girl on Spring Break screaming "hi my names krystal from ButtFuck, Iowa and i voted for the black hole sun video because that guy doing push-ups at the end is so hot!WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" It was a video that reflected the music and told a story and was just done for the sake of the art form, not for any other reason. And it is just too weird to ever be done today. Nobody would do it, because it wouldn't make any sense, it would scare children and it wouldn't be marketable. That's the bottom line, plain and simple. You couldn't make money on this today, because it would scare all the little cookie-cutter children we've created away. I'm going to watch this video about 9 more times before the day is over.

#1 - Bad Habit - The Offspring - Smash
Of all the parental advisories, this was the all-time best. I mean, we didn't have our licenses yet, so really, we could only imagine what driving fast and cutting people off and giving them the finger and dropping a laundry list of expletives on them would feel like. But in the mean time, it really gave us some great artillery to throw at our friends and enemies at lunch and after school. I remember being super pissed at my parents and just playing this song over and over on my headphones. Usually on long car trips. And if i really got made at them, i would sing the lyrics out loud to the whole CD but just "beep" myself when the bad words came up. It's not like they didn't know what went there, it's just that i couldn't get in trouble for saying it. HAHA. This song (and really, the whole CD) has to be #1 because the Offspring did for the pissed off kids what Weezer did for the awkward ones. Just an entire CD of fuck you, i am who i am, screw you for judging me, fuck the popular kids, i hate you, you hate me, let's go break a window kinda tunes. And keep in mind, this was a while before they went all "weird-al yankovich" on us and stunk up the joint with that "Pretty Fly For a White Guy" song. God that song sucked.

The tragedy about all these bands is that they either no longer exist, or they completely suck. And I know you hardcore Weezer fans will argue, but the Beverly Hills song sucked and you know it.

Alright, here's my recommendation for the week. And it's fitting because i spent most of those angstful years listening to these songs with my friend Donny, who is in this band. They are local and are playing shows Friday night and Saturday night this week. They just released their first CD. Here is their Myspace. Check them out. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Monday Morning Shuffle

2006-10-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 3rd installment of Monday Morning Shuffle. And in other news, if anyone would like to start training for the PF Changs Rock and Roll half marathon with me, it'll be a great way to get exposed to some great music, and not a bad way to lose 20 lbs. I'm starting today, who's with me?

1. Baba O’Reilly – Pearl Jam live
This song, originally by the Who, is one of Pearl Jam’s favorite covers to play live. I saw them do it in high school at Desert Sky (Now Cricket) Pavilion. It had rained all day and was still raining when the concert started. We went anyway and took Hefty bags with us to keep dry. We cut arm and neck holes and stood there looking like the California Raisins waiting for the rain to stop. It cleared up and Eddie Vedder walked on stage and said, “The only reason we scheduled a tour through Arizona was to get out of the fucking rain.” And then they blew into a thrashing version of Evenflow that sent the muddy grass into a turmoil and cast the voices of this throng of people into the desert sky. Suffice to say it was an amazing concert and one of my favorites of all time. Luckily for us, Pearl Jam released a series of double-disk live albums and this song and all others are pretty damn easy to find live. Check them out, or better yet, go see Pearl Jam live if you have an opportunity. Even after all these years, you won’t be disappointed.

2. Ideas vs. Protocol – Rajiv Patel from The Retaliation for What They’ve Done to Us.
I get the feeling that every song coming up on this space is a great one and that I’m just completely suckling every song by every artist that comes up. That isn’t completely the case, I just really like music and I don’t have a ton of songs on my iTunes that I don’t like. The Retaliation for What They’ve Done to Us is a CD but it’s also a side project from the band Before Braille, one of the best Mesa/Tempe local bands around. Rajiv is their supremely talented guitarist and he has been apart of a ton of tremendous side and solo projects. Ideas vs. Protocol is just one song of 6 songs but it’s one of those CDs that just flows from song to song. They’re all interconnected and move seamlessly from song to song. In actuality this is a 27-minute instrumental rock opera that only gets messed up because the CD has to break in between tracks. They performed this act, if you want to call it that, only once at the Mesa Women’s Center in front of about 40 people. Nobody really knew what to expect but there were a lot of musicians and artists in the crowd with their jaws hanging open during the performance. Then, as soon as the music ended and after the applause had died down, people just turned around and said, “I’m going home to write songs.” Or “I’m going home to paint.” And I don’t know if it’s as inspirational listening to it on the CD but it is still damn good. And to be honest, if you want a 30-minute workout, plug this thing in, and work along with the beat of it. If you’re anything like me, the lows and the highs will coincide with your heart rate. And just because I like this CD so much, and because it’s probably hard to get, I’d be more than happy to burn it or IM it to anyone interested.

3. Callin’ Baton Rouge – Garth Brooks on The Hits
One of the greatest karaoke songs of all time. And one of the only country songs I like. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I love Garth. I spent more than a few drunken nights with my good friend Danny playing Madden and singing Garth at the top of our lungs. Good stuff.

4. One of Them – Jurassic 5 on Power in Numbers
A semi-decent song on a pretty good album. Highlights include What’s Golden, High Fidelity and I Am Somebody. And since I don’t really have anything else to say about that, Charlie 2Na is the most laid-back dude on the planet. When I saw them in Denver, he walks out on stage and in his trademark low voice, says “Deeeeennnnnnvvvvvveeeeerrrrr Cooooooollllllooorrrrraaddddooooo.” And he was wearing sweat pants and slippers. Quality.

5. Hey Leonardo – Blessid Union of Souls on Walking Off the Buzz
You just can’t deny BUOS. At all. They’re one of the most underrated pop acts of the mid- to late-nineties. They defined my Senior Prom, taught us about how love can overcome all kinds of things, including racist fathers and they articulated some pretty serious adolescent thoughts for those who took the time to listen. And all that was culminated by seeing them in concert at the Chandler Ostrich Festival, one of Arizona’s truly great venues. HA. If you have the CD, and I know you do, give it a play soon. You won’t regret it.

That’ll do it for this week’s shuffle. I think we’ll probably see me dig deep into the record collection for a special little treat on Wednesday.

Bad News for fans of The Darkness

2006-10-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

Justin Hawkins can't stop doing blow long enough to bring back 80s glam rock.

I like their first CD. And it looks now like i enjoyed their last CD.

Matt Costa

2006-10-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

So I’m sitting on a plane from SLC to PHX and I’ve never been happier to own an iPod. One row in front, and on the opposite side of the aisle, sits perhaps the most heinous woman I have ever laid eyes on. She’s wearing black leggings, an impossibly ugly silver sweater and stupidly thin, “I’m trying to be trendy and young” style glasses to not only look plain retarded, but are probably impossible to read through. Her fat hands keep turning the pages of her book which she is not reading as she gestures wildly and speaks loudly to the lady across the aisle about how stylish and fashionable and rich she thinks she is. She spent 20 minutes making fun of the crap in the in-flight magazine, pretending that she’s so much better than that. (And if her sweater is any indication, she isn’t.) Since sitting in the airport bar near her, and then ending up on the same plane as her, I’ve seen her absolutely decimate at least 5 glasses of scotch and the volume of her voice is adjusting accordingly.

It’s this intro that I use to introduce you to Matt Costa. I’ve been pretending to know him for a little while now, but the last few days have been the first time I’ve had a chance to really dwell on and investigate his album, “Songs We Sing.” It takes a few listens to really get a good feel for a CD and I’m probably not even there yet, but I like to start writing a few listens in and then narrow down and sharpen my original thoughts as I get a better understanding of it.

In my dreams -- the ones where I’m a talented musician with a strong unapologetic voice and some serious guitar chops and I’m sitting at a campfire in the mountains of Colorado with many beautiful women gazing at me adoringly as I entertain the group with songs of tragedy and triumph that simultaneously paint me as a strong yet sensitive renaissance man who never wastes a minute of his precious time and always gets what he wants -- I am Matt Costa.

The guitar is the first thing you notice – and it’s track one and it’s the same chord being strummed repeatedly for about 30 seconds, but it’s good and it draws you in and there’s something about it that once his voice comes in, you just get the feeling that for the next 13 songs, something good is going to happen. And it’s good enough to drown out the most annoying of people. Thank god.

Costa ranges from some of the simplest bar sing-a-longs like “Sunshine” to some more complex tunes like “Sweet Thursday”. But if you’re in a basic mood and just want to hear some good, solid, unassuming, unpretentious tunes, then give Matt Costa a listen. He’s the kind of guy who should be playing Friday nights in a loud bar with a big dance floor, instead he has a CD, so put it on and swing your lady around the living room a few times (Behind the Moon, especially).

There isn’t much else to say, so I’ll wrap up by saying that eventually I’ll pick a CD I don’t like and just skewer it. But for now, I’m having fun listening to music I actually like, so I may stick with that for a while.

Attention People Who Still Buy CDs

2006-10-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

Tower Records is going out of business, closing its doors and selling its inventory at bargain basement prices. If you want Cds Movies or any of the other shit they sell there, get there soon.

Locations:
http://www.towerrecords.com/stores/Default.aspx

Monday Morning Shuffle

2006-10-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

I meant to post at least once more last week but I went out of town on short notice and had no internet connection for 4 days. Frightening at first and yet, oddly relaxing once I got used to it. On with the shuffle.

1. My Favorite Things – John Coltrane from “The Very Best of Coltrane”
This is jazz music at its finest and my absolute favorite song on the CD. I couldn’t have picked a better first song for the Monday Morning Shuffle if I had tried. Coltrane and his band riff on and solo and pretty much disect the Favorite Things song from Sound of Music for 13 minutes and 45 seconds. I’m just going to stop typing now and listen to the rest of it….

2. Streets of Laredo – Johnny Cash from “American IV: The Man Comes Around”
Not one of my favorite songs from this CD but not a bad one either. There’s a pretty big distance between the two John’s we’ve started off with this morning. And I can’t say I was in the mood for this one. According to Nole, the newest post-mortem Cash release, American V, is awesome and I should go pick it up soon. So I’ll do that. And then probably review it. Unless Nole wants to? Whaddya say Nole?

3. Everywhere – Michelle Branch from “The Spirit Room”
It was tough to stop laughing about this one but before she went all hill-billy on me, I really liked Michelle Branch. And she’s from Sedona or something, so that’s cool too. Gotta support the local stars. And honestly, Michelle was probably forced into doing pop music at the time because the labels needed a response to the Britney Spears backlash that was occurring at the time and because Avril Lavigne was already spreading her Canadian born angst (and poor spelling) across the airwaves. So when Michelle got done cutting her two pop CDs (The Spirit Room and Hotel Paper, both of which were pretty good.) she probably couldn’t wait to get into country. Still, pianos, and more importantly, girls who play pianos are incredibly sexy and she’s definitely near the top of my list. 1. Alicia Keys 2. Vanessa Carlton 3. Michelle Branch 4. Elton John

4. Hold You In My Arms – Ray LaMontagne from “Trouble”
Alright, here is my first “I knew this guy before you did” moment of the day. A few years ago my mom bought me this CD along with Robert Earl Keen (who I mentioned last week) and Griffin House. I had heard of Keen, but hadn’t heard of the other two. I loaded them onto iTunes and promptly forgot about them. But they came up in the shuffle occasionally and I liked most of what I heard from both. Now, LaMontagne has released a new CD that is gathering huge critical acclaim and since he doesn’t do a fake, trying-to-be-sexy whisper like John Mayer, he will probably pass him and that one-hit wonder James Blount as the sexy, trendy singer du jour. And just in case Griffin House doesn’t come up in the shuffle anytime soon, definitely check him out too. He’s about to get pretty large as well. Hurry and you can still beat the crowd.

5. Faithful – Common from “Be”
Common is one of those hip-hop names that gets some play (like Jurassic 5) without completely selling out (like the Black-Eyed Peas). He made some appearances on Chappelle Show and got some credit because Kanye did most of his beats and each featured the other on their last albums. But Common stays pretty true to his Chiacago hip-hop roots and avoids the “dance floor beat” disease that afflicts many MCs (including Kanye) after a taste of success (you know, when the song sucks, but the beat is good so people will dance to it and thus sell records?). He still inflects a few of today’s politics and issues into his songs and yet still has some fun. His clear voice and delivery are what I like the most about Common, because you don’t miss his messages and he’s very, very smooth with his lyrics. He apparently had a CD coming out in September, so I’ll have to check and see if that actually happened and check that out. If you don’t have “Be,” it is so choice, I highly suggest you try one out.

We’ll keep it at 5 for today. Give me your thoughts in the comments. Adios.

Oh and keep an eye out for at least one more post this week. Not sure what I’ll be talking about but it’ll probably be about Matt Costa, Doves or something old that I liked in middle school (The Offspring maybe?)